Never Been Kissed
by haleigh91
Summary: Gabriella is a geek who's life is about to be turned upside down when she falls for her natural enemy, Troy Bolton. But can her past keep her from her one true love?
1. Trailer and Prologue

**They always threw insults at her…**

"Look everyone, it's Geeky Gabi!"

"Yeah, why don't you just die? No one wants you here anyways!"

**…and although it seemed like she never cared…**

_Shows Gabriella bravely walking away from the crowd of jocks._

**…it still always hurt her.**

_Shows Gabriella looking up at her best friend Taylor and sobbing. _

"I don't know if I can do this anymore, Tay."

**But when a tutoring ****assignment****…**

"Gabriella," Ms. Darbus announced, "I'd like for you to tutor someone for me."

**…brings her closer to her enemy…**

"I can't believe that you have to tutor Troy Bolton!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Yeah," Gabriella sighed, rolling her eyes. "Me either."

**…what happens when she actually starts to fall for him?**

_Shows Gabriella looking longingly at Troy._

**And worse, when he starts to love her.**

"I…I think that I might love Gabriella."

**But can her mysterious past…**

"Troy, I have a secret."

**Keep her from her only true love?**

_Shows Gabriella sobbing into Troy's chest._

"Troy, I can't see you anymore."

**Find out what happens in "****Never Been Kissed.****"**

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Beautiful, graceful, and popular. Those are three things that I am not. But I am one thing: smart. In fact, I'm a complete nerd. But I'm getting way ahead of myself. My name is Gabriella Marie Montez, but you can call me Gabi.

I've lived in Albuquerque all my life, almost 18 years in fact. I have been to the same school with the exact same people since kindergarten. There are the drama stars, Sharpay and Ryan Evans, who are actually nice to me at times. There's also my best friend, Taylor McKessie. I don't know where I'd be without her. Oh, and lastly, there's the jocks a.k.a. Chad Danforth and Troy Bolton. Now, Chad's not a bad guy once you get to know him, but Troy, he's a whole different story.

Troy Bolton and I have been enemies ever since he first laid eyes on me. I don't know what it is about our relationship but it's certainly not good. We're natural enemies and nothing that the world says can change our minds. In actuality, I don't dislike the guy. He's the one who despises me, even though I have no clue why. I've never did anything to him. I guess that it's just the way that our universe works.

For 17 years I've lived a pretty boring life. Although, I guess that, even though I don't have much, I'm still blessed. I have a wonderful mother (wonderfully strict, that is), a best friend, Taylor, and my beautiful Yorkie, Sophie. Together, we all live a pretty peaceful, yet insipid life. Oh, and there's one more thing that I didn't mention about myself. I've never been kissed.**

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**Love it? it? Please tell me in your oh so wonderful reviews. Thanks!**


	2. Enemies For Good

**OK, I don't really have much to say except thank you for the reviews. So, here's the next chapter…**

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**Gabriella's POV**

East High School. A primitive environment where teachers unwillingly force us to educate ourselves despite the fact that we're too busy stressing out about who's going to ask us to prom next month or that new pimple that just popped up on our forehead. In other words, it's, what I like to call, the root of all evil. I mean, how are you supposed to learn in a place that has people like Troy Bolton?

You know those kids that get expelled for like, ever, whenever they disrupt the learning process? I'd consider Troy one of those kids, even though he's never gotten expelled before. But he should have been; plenty of times. He's the kind of guy who just worries about basketball and what new women he's going to sleep with this weekend. What a jerk! I just feel sorry for the other women that he harms. He'll just sleep with them one night and then dump them the next day. Don't they know that whenever Troy has that stupid grin slapped upon his self-centered face that all he's thinking about is what's under their clothes? I'd never, repeat NEVER, date a guy like Troy Bolton. Mark my word…never.

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**No POV**

Gabriella timidly walked through the doors of East High just like she did every other Monday morning. To her right were the skater dudes and to her left, the drama stars. Straight ahead, Troy Bolton and his basketball robots. As Gabriella reached her locker, her best friend Taylor scooted up next to her, opening her own locker.

"Morning, Gabs!" Taylor said to her best friend.

"Hi," Gabriella mumbled, her face not bearing a smile.

"Something wrong?"

Gabriella gave her friend a glare. Taylor always knew what was wrong, so why did she even bother asking?

"It's Troy again, isn't it?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah, who's his new women this week?" Gabriella questioned as she and Taylor turned to face the group of basketball jocks.

"Surprisingly, it's still Dayley Samuels."

Gabriella could feel the heat rush to her face as she watched Troy heatedly make out with Dayley next to his locker. Dayley was East High's cheerleading captain and biggest airhead. She probably didn't even know the difference between a fork and a knife. Actually, she probably didn't even know what a fork and a knife are.

"That's a shocker," Gabriella said, turning back to Taylor.

"Um...Gabs."

"Yeah?"

"You might want to turn around. You-know-who is heading our way."

Gabriella rolled her eyes in disgust. "_Not again_," she mentally said to herself as she turned around to greet her enemy.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Geeky Gabi, Miss Miserable Montez," Troy exclaimed with a burst of laughter.

"Why, if it it's Buck Tooth, Bad Breath Bolton!" Gabriella happily exclaimed back.

"Shut it Montez!"

"Make me!" she yelled back. Gabriella stepped back and looked at Troy's hand which was interlocked with Dailey's.

"Wow, Troy. This is quite a shocker. I can't believe that you've had the same women for over a week. That's a big accomplishment for you. I guess that you must not have slept with this one."

"That's none of your business!" Troy screamed at her, his eyes currently filled with rage as he took a step towards her.

Gabriella just smirked at him. "Come on, Tay," Gabriella said as she took her best friend's hand and attempted to pull her away from the group. As she walked past Troy, Gabriella bumped her shoulder against his.

"You're going to pay for this Montez!" Gabriella heard Troy scream from behind her. "Just you wait!"

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Gabriella sat on the swing on her back porch silently sipping her glass of lemonade. She was currently thinking about her school day and, for once, her single encounter with Troy Bolton. He would usually come and pick on her during lunch too, but today he was nowhere to be found.

Gabriella heard a quiet knock on the door and her mother, Lisa Montez, stuck her head outside. "Gabriella, Taylor's here."

"Thanks, Mom. Send her on back."

Ms. Montez nodded and not even a second later, Taylor walked through the door and sat next to Gabriella on the swing.

"Hey, Tay."

"Hey. I've got some news," Taylor exclaimed, getting right to the point.

"What is it?" Gabriella inquired.

"Well, it seems that during lunch today Troy and Dayley had a fight and…"

"And?"

"They broke up."

"HA!" Gabriella laughed. "I knew that they wouldn't last long."

"Actually, Gabs, Dayley broke up with Troy," Taylor informed her.

"What?" asked Gabriella, as the smile disappeared off of her face.

"Well, after Dayley heard what you said to Troy, about the whole sleeping thing, she decided that she didn't want that or Troy."

"Wow, it seems that Dayley may be smarter than we make her out to be."

"This isn't funny. She was really upset, Gabs, and so was Troy."

"Troy? Upset? Yeah right!"

"Gabs," Taylor shouted, "when are you and Troy ever going to solve whatever conflict is between you!? You might want to fast so some of us can actually have a life. Have fun playing war." And with that Taylor left.

Gabriella was shocked by her best friend's words. Maybe she was right. Maybe they did need to solve their conflict. She thought of what it would be like to actually be friends with Troy and she shuddered at the thought. It seems like they were enemies for good.

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**Well, there you have it. Please review (or else there will be no more chapters)! Mwahaha! I'm so evil aren't I?**


	3. Tears and a Tutor

**Hi everyone! It's me again. And it's about time that I typed up another chapter haha. I'm not making any promises, but since I have this whole week off for fall break I might try to update again. Oh and remember, ideas are always welcome!**

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**Gabriella's POV**

Beautiful. That's something that I, personally, have never been. I mean, how can someone with thick rimmed glasses and a tight ponytail be beautiful? The only person that's ever told me that I was beautiful was my mom. But it doesn't really matter because it's her job to tell me that.

Honestly, just between you and me, I've never had a boyfriend. But I don't really blame the guys because I wouldn't date myself either. I don't know why, but I'm started to get tired of people, mainly Troy, calling me ugly. It used to not bother me at all, but lately it has been. I just wish that people wouldn't see me as the ugly duckling, but instead for the beautiful swan that I really am.**

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**No POV**

Another Tuesday, another boring day at East High. Gabriella timidly entered the building. As she did, she cut her eye to where Troy was standing with his basketball buddies and noticed that he was holding Dayley's hand again. Gabriella rolled her eyes at the current scene and continued to her locker.

"Hey Gabs," Taylor called as she caught up with her best friend.

"Hi. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Taylor replied as they reached their lockers.

"What happened between Troy and Dayley? I thought that they broke up."

Taylor looked over at Troy and Dayley and rolled her eyes just as Gabriella had done. "I have no idea. You know Troy, he has to always have a women. He probably went crawling back to her because he knew that he'd need someone to sleep with this weekend."

"Probably so. I just feel sorry for Dayley. She has no idea what he's up to," Gabriella said.

"Yeah. Well there's nothing that we can do about the situation. Just let them be, I guess," Taylor suggested. As she did, Troy and the entire basketball team reached their lockers.

"Well, look who it is!" Troy exclaimed. "It's a bunch of losers!"

"Beat it Bolton!" Taylor screeched.

"This doesn't concern you, McKessie. It only involves me and Montez over here," said Troy, pointing at Gabriella.

"What do you want, Troy?" Gabriella whispered, almost inaudible.

"My literature homework it due next period and I need you to do it for me."

"I can't do that, Troy," Gabriella spoke. "That would be cheating."

"So? Do it or you'll be sorry!"

"I can't do it. And that's final," mumbled Gabriella.

"You know what? Why don't you just die? No one wants you here anyways, especially me!" Troy yelled before walking off to first period. He turned around too quickly to miss the single tear rolling down Gabriella's sleek face.

"Come here, sweetie," Taylor cooed as she embraced her best friend in a hug.

Tears were now pouring down Gabriella's face and all the eyes in the hallway were on the pair of best friends. Doing what she thought was best, Taylor pulled Gabriella into a nearby, empty classroom.

"Shh, Gabi…" Taylor said, rubbing Gabriella's back.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore, Tay," Gabriella said as she sobbed into her best friends shoulder.

"Look, Gabriella, just ignore him," suggested Taylor.

"I can't!" Gabriella wailed. "I'm getting sick and tired of waking up every morning to this crap! He makes me feel useless."

"But you're not, Gabi."

"How would you know?! At least you're pretty; at least you're not being called ugly everyday! "

"Gabriella, just calm down," Taylor said.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! How am I supposed to calm down when that ego centric, bullheaded, jerk is out there telling the whole world what a loser I am?" Gabriella screamed, tears cascading down her face. She quickly turned on her heel and left the classroom leaving Taylor alone with her thoughts.**

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"Good morning, students," Ms. Darbus exclaimed as the homeroom bell had just finished ringing. "I hope that everyone has had a good morning thus far."

Taylor glanced over a Gabriella whose eyes were red and blotchy from crying earlier. She knew that Gabriella had definitely NOT had a good morning.

"Now, class, today we are going to talk about Romeo and Juliet, a classic story of love, as I'm sure you already know," Ms. Darbus informed them.

"Yeah, everyone except Gabriella, because she doesn't know what love is," Troy exclaimed loudly to the class. The classroom was filled with snickers and now all eyes were on Gabriella, who sunk down in her seat.

"Mr. Bolton! That outburst of yours will cause you detention this afternoon and I would also like to see you after class is over," Ms. Darbus stated before continuing with her lecture.**

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After the bell had rang, Troy made his way over to Ms. Darbus' desk. "Yo, Ms. D! What's up?"

"What's up? Well, it certainly isn't your grades," Ms. Darbus said while holding a paper with a big red F on it.

"So? Why should I care?"

"Because, Mr. Bolton, if you do not pass this class you will be repeating it next year with the other students."

"Oh, no. I can't do that Ms. Darbus. I can't fail, my dad will kill me!"

"Well, I'd advise you to do something about it or you will fail," Ms. Darbus warned him.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, you're only option really is to get a tutor."

"A tutor? You mean those geeks who tell me what to do?"

"Yes, Mr. Bolton. But remember that those _geeks_ are the ones who are passing, unlike you."

"Fine, I'll take the tutor…" Troy sighed.

"Good. I already have someone in mind and I'll send her to you this afternoon. I'm sure you'll like her."**

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The afternoon bell had just finished ringing and Gabriella was finally headed home, a place where Troy Bolton wasn't. She timidly walked through the halls, trying her best not to make eye contact with people who were now staring at her.

"Miss Montez!" Gabriella heard someone call from behind. She turned around to see Ms. Darbus motioning for her to come.

"Yes, Ms. Darbus?" asked Gabriella.

"Miss Montez, I am aware that you are one of the smartest students in my class."

"Yes…"

"And, being the smartest student, I would like for you to tutor someone for me who is, well, not quite as smart."

"Well, I've been quite busy lately and…"

"It looks good on college applications," Ms. Darbus added.

"Fine, I'm in, but who is this person anyways?"**

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"TROY BOLTON?!" Taylor screamed as she sat on the edge of Gabriella's bed.

"Shh, I don't want the whole neighborhood to hear," Gabriella whispered.

"But, he's like, you're enemy. You can barely talk to the guy without getting into an argument! So how are you supposed to tutor him?" Taylor questioned.

"I really don't know, Tay."

"Wow, I just cannot believe that you are tutoring Troy Bolton."

"Yeah," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes, "Me either."**

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**Well, there ya have it! Oh and remember, you better review! Or else!**


	4. What's Your Problem?

**Hello! Just like I promised, here's the next chapter. And I would also like to thank anyone who has reviewed this story. You ****guys**** are awesome!**

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After Taylor had left, Gabriella opened the front door of her house and peered next door. As much as she didn't want to do this, she knew that she had to. Taking a deep breath, Gabriella hurriedly walked next door to the Bolton residence. She calmly breathed in and out for a few seconds before knocking on the door. Gabriella heard giggles come from inside and then the door flew open to reveal a very flustered Troy, his shirt messed up and his hair out of place.

"What do _you_ want?" he asked coldly after he had seen who was standing at his door. Gabriella peered around Troy to see Dayley sitting on the couch.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I'm interrupted anything, but I'm your tutor for literature…"

"Unfortunately," Troy breathed softly.

"Well, I was just thinking that we might need to study for the test Thursday."

"Ugh, fine! But we cannot study anywhere where my friends might see me. My reputation would be ruined if anyone saw me with a loser like you."

"S-sure," Gabriella stuttered. "Meet me at the library in an hour."

"Whatever," Troy said before slamming the door in Gabriella's face, barely missing her nose.

Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief. "_At least I got that over with_."

An hour and a half later, Gabriella was still sitting in the library by herself.

"_He's late; half an hour late. I knew he wouldn't come. Why did I even bother?_" she questioned herself.

"Let's get this over with," a blue eyed boy said as he threw his books on the table and sat down.

"You're late…" Gabriella exclaimed.

"So? It's not like you had plans. Your social life isn't good enough to have plans," Troy said harshly.

Without responding and looking Troy in the eyes, Gabriella opened up her textbook and read aloud: "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name! Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

"What does that mean, Troy?" Gabriella asked after she had finished reading the selection from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

"Um…How the heck should I know?!" Troy yelled, throwing his arms up in the air. Other people in the library gave Troy angry glares and whispered _shh!_

"It means that Juliet wanted to marry Romeo and no longer be a Capulet," she informed him quietly.

"Look, I really don't understand any of this junk! And I have plans in a few minutes. I really need to go," Troy said before slamming Gabriella's book shut and picking up his back pack.

"No wonder you're failing literature, Troy. You can't even take a good 5 minutes to decently study!" Gabriella yelled at him while standing up and taking a step towards him.

"What are you? My mother?!"

"No, but I'm just trying to help you out Troy. That's what friends do..."

"Here's the thing, _nerd_. YOU'RE NOT MY FRIEND! Not now, not EVER!" Troy screamed before grabbing his things and dashing out of the library.

A tear slowly rolled down Gabriella's cheek. She had wished that their study session had gone differently. Completely different.

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_BRRIINNG!!!_The fourth period bell had just finished ringing and Troy was quietly heading down the hall. Right now, he wasn't in the mood to eat and he wasn't in the mood to go make out with Dayley, which was very odd for Troy. In fact, he didn't know what mood he was in.

As Troy walked the lonely halls, a beautiful sound filled the empty school halls. There was only one thing that it could be, a female singing. Troy looked left and right, wondering where that beautiful voice was coming from. He finally ended up in the auditorium.

When Troy entered the auditorium, he was shocked to see who it was. There, on the stage, sitting on a stool strumming a wooden guitar, was none other than Gabriella herself. Troy snuck into the back row and listened to her as she softly strummed the guitar and began to sing:

_"You don't know my name_

_you don't know anything about me_

_I try to play nice_

_I want to be in your game_

_The things that you say_

_You may think I never hear about them_

_But word travels fast_

_I'm telling you to your face_

_I'm standing here behind your back_

_You don't know how it feels_

_To be outside the crowd_

_You don't know what it's like_

_To be left out_

_And you don't know how it feels_

_To be your own best friend on the outside looking in_

_If you could read my mind_

_You might see more of me that meets the eye_

_And you've been all wrong_

_Not who you think I am_

_You've never given me a chance_

_You don't know how it feels_

_To be outside the crowd_

_You don't know what it's like_

_To be left out_

_And you don't know how it feels_

_To be your own best friend on the outside looking in_

_Well, I'm tired of staying at home_

_I'm bored and all alone_

_I'm sick of wasting all my time_

_You don't know how it feels_

_To be outside the crowd_

_You don't know what it's like_

_To be left out_

_And you don't know how it feels_

_To be your own best friend on the outside looking in_

_You don't know how it feels_

_To be outside the crowd_

_You don't know what it's like_

_To be left out_

_And you don't know how it feels_

_To be your own best friend on the outside looking in..."_

Gabriella ended the song with passion as tears were now cascading down her face.

"Wow," Troy said to himself, or so he thought.

Hearing the voice from the back of the room, Gabriella's head jolted up right. When she saw who it was, she got angry, picking up her guitar and heading for its case.

"Gabriella …" Troy called as he rushed towards the stage where Gabriella was.

"What do you want Troy?!" yelled Gabriella as she quickly turned to where he was standing, just a few feet away.

"I…I'm sorry. I had no idea that you felt that way."

"Oh sure. NOW you're sorry. But you know what; you're words mean nothing to me. Actions speak louder than words, Troy," Gabriella exclaimed through her tears.

"I really didn't know, Gabi," Troy said. He and Gabriella both stood there in complete and udder shock at what he had just said. He had just called her Gabi.

As she heard him call her that, more tears filled Gabriella's eyes and she got even angrier at the thought of her past. "Don't you EVER call me that again!" she yelled in rage.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that. I really didn't mean to upset you," Troy said as he took a step towards her. "Is there a reason that you don't want to call you that?"

"Please, just leave me alone Troy. I don't want to talk about it," Gabriella exclaimed as she turned her back to him and began to walk away.

Without thinking, Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and turned her around towards him; their faces now centimeters apart.

Gabriella wrinkled her nose in disgust. "What's your problem today, Troy? You're suddenly acting like you like me," Gabriella questioned him as she wiggled out of his tight grasp and ran away.

Troy stood there speechless. She was actually right from once. What _was_ his problem?

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**Well, there it is, another chapter done. If you'd like, I'd really appreciate your reviews on this chapter. Thanks everyone!**


	5. Colorful Romance

**Hi everyone! It's time for another chapter. ****I'm so pleased with all of the reviews. Who knew that this story would become so popular? ****So I'm not going to talk long because I know that yall want to read it. Ok, here it is…**

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It was another routine day for Gabriella. She got up and went to school, just like every other morning. And, as always, Gabriella had her usual morning fight with Troy. Only this time, the fight ended differently for Gabriella…

"Morning, Tay," Gabriella said casually as she approached her locker and her best friend.

"Good morning Gabriella."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a good morning yet. I haven't seen Troy."

"Gabs, you shouldn't let him change the outlook of your day. He's just a guy."

"Yeah, a demonic, pig headed guy who is probably planning world tion someday in the near future," Gabriella joked.

"Anyways, enough about Troy. So how do you think that your Trig test will go today? I'm kinda worried even though I studied."

"Oh, I know what you mean. I stayed up all night last night study for this test. I heard that it's going to be a killer."

"I don't know," Taylor exclaimed. "Mrs. Thompson has never given a hard test in her whole teaching career. Let's hope that that record doesn't change today."

"Yeah-" Gabriella started but was cut off by a sharp pain on her right arm. She winced in pain as her arm flew to the continuous pain. Gabriella heard Taylor gasp.

"That's for not doing my homework yesterday," Troy stated with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Troy! How dare you hit her! What did she ever do to you?" Taylor yelled in her best friend's defense. Meanwhile, Gabriella slowly slid down the lockers, now sitting on the ground, unnoticed by either of the two arguing above her.

"She's just getting what she deserves. Montez is nothing but an ugly little loser. I don't even know why she's still here. I told her to die. She should take my advice next time," Troy said before walking off and purposefully stepping hardly on Gabriella's toes in the process.

Gabriella winced in pain as he did so. Taylor came down to Gabriella's level and held her tightly. For the first time, Gabriella wasn't crying. She was just…confused. He had hit her. Troy, that guy who had seemed so nice yesterday, had actually hit her. What was he? Bipolar?

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That very afternoon while her mom was away Gabriella decided to do something fun to get her mind off of Troy. But that didn't last very long. Gabriella heard the doorbell from the second story room she was in and hurriedly ran towards it.

"Who is it?" she breathed.

"Troy" the voice called back.

Gabriella groaned. She was now in a debate with herself over whether she should open the door or not. What if he was here to hurt her again? Despite that horrid thought, Gabriella unwillingly opened the door.

"Are you here to hurt me again?" Gabriella asked as she opened her front door to reveal Troy.

But instead of answering like she had hoped he would, Troy just stood there. Shocked by the gorgeous sight he was now looking at. Gabriella was unlike anything he had ever seen. She was wearing a white, but blue splattered, tank top and a pair of short Soffee shorts. Those clothes proved that she actually had a body. Her hair was actually down for once, letting the dark chocolate curls fall gracefully over her narrow shoulders. But most importantly, those thick rimmed glasses of hers were nowhere to be seen. Instead, Gabriella was wearing a pair of contacts, something no one besides her mom had ever seen. In Troy's opinion, she looked beautiful.

"Um…I…uh…No, no. I was actually here to study," Troy stammered while managing to hold up his literature book.

"Oh, well I'm busy and plus my mom's not here. She would ground me if she found me here alone with a boy."

"Well, we'll just be studying and I'll be happy to help with anything. And I'll leave before she gets here. I really need to study Gabriella," Troy pleaded.

"Fine," Gabriella sighed. "But I'm only doing this because it's my job."

Troy then closed the door and followed Gabriella as she gracefully walked up the stairs. He was watching her every move: her arms swinging back and forth, her hips slowly moving side to side as she walked, her chest gradually rising and falling as she was breathing. They then entered a room that's walls were half white, half blue.

"Well, at least now I know why you had blue paint all over your shirt," Troy laughed.

"Just grab a paintbrush," Gabriella coldly insisted as she picked up her own and began to paint the once white walls.

Their painting continued for a few minutes before Troy looked over at Gabriella's right arm. He walked over to her and gently ran his fingers over the dark purple place on her arm. Gabriella flinched at his touch, yet it brought a guilty pleasure to her as his rough fingers touched her smooth skin.

"What happened?" Troy asked quietly.

"Don't you know? You're the one that did it!" Gabriella exclaimed as she took a step away from him.

"T-that's what I did?" inquired Troy. He couldn't believe it. He had actually hurt her.

"Yeah. I thought after yesterday afternoon in the auditorium that you would actually start to be nice to me. You actually seemed to care about me. But after this morning…" Gabriella said, her voice beginning to drift off. "I don't know who you are anymore."

"Gabriella, I don't know what came over me. My friends kept riding me about you. They know how much we despise each other. It's what they expect from me."

"Troy, you're going to have to make a choice. If you don't want to do things that your friends are pressuring you to do then they're not your real friends. Just think about that," Gabriella stated before turning back to her painting. Troy did the same and the room grew back to its awkward silence.

After a few moments, Troy was getting a sickening feeling in his stomach from the awkward silence. A smirk then came to his face as he thought of a brilliant idea.

"Hey, Gabriella," Troy called as he took a step towards her.

"Yeah?"

"You got a little something on your nose," Troy informed her.

"Where?" she asked feeling her nose.

"There!" Troy said while sticking his paintbrush to her nose, covering it in blue paint.

"Oh it's so on Bolton!" Gabriella screamed as she began to chase Troy around the room. This continued on for a few minutes; one chasing after another, their laughter filling the room. Troy then unexpectedly grabbed Gabriella around the waist, spinning her around and making her giggle in the process.

Now, both of the teens lay on the floor, completely out of breath from their silly actions. They were dripping in blue paint from head to toe.

"That…was…fun…" Gabriella managed to say.

"Agreed…" Troy heavily breathed as he looked over at Gabriella. He knew that he had to tell her how beautiful she looked today. "Gabriella, you look-

Troy proclamation was cut short by the shrill voice of Gabriella's mother filling the house. "Gabriella! I'm home!"

"It's my mother!" Gabriella panicked quietly.

"What do we do?" Troy asked nervously. Gabriella hurriedly grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards her room which was across the hall. She gave him a push towards her balcony.

"Climb down the tree. You have access from my back yard to yours," Gabriella breathed.

"Ok. I had fun today," Troy said before unexpectedly kissing Gabriella cheek and heading down the tree. His head disappeared just in time as Gabriella's mother entered the room.

"Gabriella?"

"Y-yes mother?"

"Are you alright?" she asked because Gabriella had a dreamy look on her face. "I thought I heard another voice up here."

"Um…no. I just had the TV on, but it's off now. Sorry about that."

"It's quite alright, darling," she said, even though she was still suspicious. "Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes."

"Thanks!" Gabriella called and let out a sigh of relief and her mother exited the room. After her mother disappeared, she raised a hand to where Troy had kissed her cheek. It had tingled the moment it happened. She didn't know what had happened between them this afternoon but she was surely starting to like it.

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**Ooh! I love the romance starting to heat up between these two. And it's funny how they actually never studied. Haha! Well, please review if you read this. Thanks!**


	6. A Bully of Love

**Wow. I can't believe it. Out of all the stories that I have written, I received my first bad review for the last chapter of this story. It was kinda disappointing at first but then I ****realized**** that it was good to have a flame every once in awhile. They help you to grow as an author. So I didn't let it bother me and I continued to write. ****Now I would just like to say t****hank you to everyone who ****supports this story. It really, really ****means a lot to me. Ok,**** I've blabbered ****enough****. Here'****s the next chapter dedicated to everyone who's reviewed.****

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Gabriella was hurriedly pacing back and forth. It had only been five minutes since Troy had disappeared from her sight at the balcony and she already knew that something was very wrong. Something didn't seem right. And she knew what she had to do.

Nervously, Gabriella picked up the phone and dialed Troy's number. Her hands were shaking so badly from being so scared as to what to say to him.

"Hello?" a male voice said from the other end of the phone. Gabriella instantly recognized the voice as Troy's.

"Troy…"

"Gabriella, is that you?"

"Um…Yeah. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Cool. You know, I had too much fun today," Troy happily exclaimed.

"Actually," Gabriella interrupted, "that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Uh-huh…" Troy mumbled, signaling for her to continue.

"Troy, you're still dating Dayley and what happened today was fun but it was very wrong. This should have never happened and most importantly, you should have never kissed me…" Troy was now hanging on the every word that Gabriella said. "…I'm sorry, Troy. Maybe we can still be friends but I'm just not ready for this and it wouldn't be fair to Dayley. I'm so sorry…" Gabriella incoherently whispered while shakily hanging up the phone.

Troy on the other end, however, had not even hung up the phone yet. He was still processing the thoughts that Gabriella had just said. Whatever she said wasn't going to stop him. He knew that he would get Gabriella Montez one way or another.**

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**

After calmly thinking about whether she had made a good decision or not, telling Troy her feelings, Gabriella heard her mother from the other room and what she heard didn't sound good.

"GABRIELLA MARIE MONTEZ! GET IN HERE THIS INSTANT!!" her mother screeched from inside the guest room. Without even going in the room, Gabriella knew what was coming and it most certainly was not good.

"What is this mess?!" Ms. Montez yelled sternly as she pointed at the blue splotches on the walls and floors.

"Um…" Gabriella panicked, trying to improvise and think of a lie, but she was never good at lying. "I might as well tell the truth because you were going to figure it out sooner or later."

"Yeah, I think that that would be a good idea!" she firmly declared.

"Well… I'm tutoring this guy and-"

"A GUY!?"

"Yes, mother, let me finish! Ok, I'm tutoring Troy Bolton and-"

"TROY BOLTON!?" Ms. Montez screamed at the sound of his name. She placed her index finger on her chin and thought for a minute before asking: "Who's he?"

"The guy that lives next door…"

"Oh, the player?"

"Yes, mom, that's him. Anyways, like I was trying to say before, I've been tutoring Troy. This afternoon while you were gone he came and asked me to study with him. I told him that I couldn't but he insisted. And, well, to make a long story short, we ended up having a paint fight and I snuck him out when I heard that you were home," Gabriella quickly explained, now panting from the long explanation.

"Oh, so I see. This mess is all Troy's fault."

"Yes, mom! Exactly!" Gabriella ecstatically said, jumping up and down.

"Alright, well you can tell him that it's all his fault _after_ you clean up this mess." And with that, Ms. Montez began to leave the room, before she turned around. "I don't like grounding you for a week but it's inevitable."

After her mother had left, and given out Gabriella's punishment, she slid down towards the floor, plopping herself down on the hard ground below her. Why did Troy have to be like this? Her mother was right. It was all Troy's fault.**

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**East High School-8:00 A.M.**

"Now, class," Ms. Darbus spoke, "I hope that everyone had a pleasant afternoon yesterday. Today our topic of discussion will be about why you think that Romeo died. Does anyone have an opinion on this matter?" she questioned the class as she glanced from student to student.

The classroom became silent as the students looked from one person to another. Troy Bolton slid down in his seat, hoping that Ms. Darbus wouldn't call on him to answer the question, even though he knew that she would.

"Mr. Bolton!" she called to the handsome teenager. "Care to explain?"

Troy sat up in his seat and cleared his voice as soon as the idea struck him. "Well, Ms. Darbus, I think that Romeo died because he truly loved Juliet whether she knew it or not. When he thought that she was ; he knew that life would just not be right without her. It was not worth living anymore," Troy continued as he turned back and looked at Gabriella whose face was now turning a crimson red. "He loved her. And that's all that mattered."

After Troy had finished his explanation, the classroom burst into a thunderous applause. They had never heard that wonderful reasoning come from Troy's mouth.

"Well, Mr. Bolton," Ms. Darbus gushed, "I didn't think that you had it in you."

"What can I say Ms. Darbus?" Troy said as he continued to stare at Gabriella. "I was inspired."

After the bell had rung for that class to end, Gabriella stormed out of Ms. Darbus abode. Right now, at this very moment, she didn't want to see anyone, especially Troy. But we don't always get what we want.

As the hall began to clear out, Gabriella felt a strong arm around her waist and the other cupped over her mouth, enabling her to scream even though she was now trying her best to.

The mystery person Gabriella into a small, dark janitor's closet and locked the door behind them. The mysterious person let go of Gabriella and roughly spoke: "Don't scream."

"Troy?" Gabriella harshly asked. She couldn't believe who she was stuck in a deserted closet with.

"Yeah, it's me."

"What do you think that you are doing?!"

"I wanted to see you again," Troy stated as his hands rubbed up and down arms and waist, taking any chance he could to touch her body. Gabriella instantly pulled away from his grasp.

"Well, I don't want to see you. Especially after you embarrassed me this morning. What if Dayley had been in there?"

"But you see, that's just it," Troy explained. "She wasn't."

"Troy, I don't know what you're problem is or what you think you're doing but it is NOT okay for you to like both me and Dayley. You think that it's ok to cheat on Dayley and that's exactly why you disgust me. You're a player, Troy. And one day you won't have anyone because no one will be able to trust you anymore. Think about that for a change."

And without warning, Gabriella unlocked the door to the dim closet and hurriedly exited from it, leaving Troy alone with his thoughts. This one little incident wasn't going to get Troy down, no. But now, as he stood alone in the dark closet, Troy began to think about what was happening. He was now not only bullying her, but he was bullying her with love.**

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**Ok, I know that it's kinda short but I just really wanted to put something up. And whether you loved it or not, please review. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to everyone!**


	7. Study Date Scare

**Hello everyone! I'm sooo sorry that it's been so long since I've updated but I've been so busy lately. Well I won't talk for very long. Here's the next chapter!****

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**Gabriella's POV**

Kissed. A special sign of affection between two people who really care for one another. And it's also something that I've never had happen to me. Ever since I was little, ever since I heard stories of those fairy tale princesses being swept off their feet by the handsome prince, I've wanted to be kissed by someone. And not just any someone; someone extraordinary, someone who actually cares for me.

I want my first kiss to be special. In a special place with a special someone. I don't want any old someone to just smack me on the lips in some random spot. No, I want a _real_ kiss. And when this will magical thing will happen is quite a mystery to me.

Although I've always wanted this to happen to me, I have a deep secret from my past. Ever since that day, ten years ago to be exact, I don't trust guys anymore. I don't want to end up alone when I grow up, which will be difficult since I don't trust boys at all. I'm just so afraid that I'll end up falling for someone and then they'll break my heart into a million tiny pieces. And that's the exact reason I've never had a boyfriend, been kissed, or even fallen in love. But lately whenever Troy actually started to seem like he cared for me, I knew that soon something was going to change. Something big.**

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**East High School-8:00 A.M.**

Dayley Samuels, long time cheerleader and current girlfriend of most popular jock Troy Bolton, stood at her school locker, staring into her mirror and primping herself. She was one of those airheaded teenagers who thought that they just _had_ to look at themselves every five minutes. How much more self absorbed could a person get? I mean, Dayley was the type of teenager who was super popular and had an abundant supply of friends. Although, most of the time, her "friends" only told her that she was gorgeous so that they would be recognized as popular. In reality, Dayley wasn't that popular.

Anyways, as she stood there completely beautifying herself, she heard a certain someone clear there voice from behind her. She gracefully turned around to spot Troy.

"Morning, baby…" Dayley whispered as she slung a skinny arm around Troy's neck and pulled herself closer to his body. She then began to play with the back of Troy's hair, making him more nervous than he already seemed.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" questioned Dayley. She "worriedly" looked at him, poking out her bottom lip in the process.

"Um…we need to talk," Troy managed to stutter. Hearing these words, Dayley got an extremely worried look on her face. These are the worst words to hear from your boyfriend. You know that something is horribly wrong whenever they suddenly want to talk.

"Ok, shoot," Dayley said, trying her best not to look worried.

"Actually, I kinda wanted to talk to you in private."

"Baby, you don't have to hide anything. Go ahead and tell me. Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of my friends," Dayley declared, oblivious to what was about to take place.

"Ok…I'm breaking up with you," Troy muttered, almost silently.

"What?" Dayley asked in an airheaded voice, as if she didn't know what 'breaking up' was.

"I'm dumping you."

"Huh?"

Troy rolled his eyes. This was going to be harder than he thought. "You plus me equals over…" Troy explained _slowly_.

"Excuse me?!" Dayley screeched, now getting the whole picture. How dumb could one blonde get? And without warning, Dayley slapped Troy's right cheek, leaving an instant red streak on his face.

Troy rubbed the now sore spot on his face. "What was that for?"

"For dumping me! No one dumps Dayley Samuels!" After that thud of a slap, every eye in the hallway was on the couple.

"Well guess what, little missy," Troy said, raising his voice, "I just did!"

"Is this because we slept together the other night?" Dayley inquired, now making sure to lower her voice.

"No, Day. It's not that-"

"Well, I guess that the rumors about you are true. You sleep with someone and then dump them. Nice work, Troy. You've managed to ruin my life."

"Now, Dayley, calm down. You know that I'm not breaking up with you because of that. It's just that…" Troy stopped, racking his brain for any solitary idea that might pop into his brain.

"What, Troy? Why are you breaking up with me?" Dayley sobbed, tears now pouring down her slender face, her mascara running down her tender cheeks.

"I…"

"Oh I get it now. It's that Montez chick isn't it?" Dayley questioned, leaving Troy utterly speechless.

"I…um…No! Montez and I are enemies, remember?"

"Um, no. Last time I heard, you declared you love for her in the middle of your literature class!" Dayley screamed and it hurt Troy. She had found out.

"Dayley..." Troy started.

"Don't you Dayley me, Troy. Just leave me alone!" Dayley cried as she began to run away, the faint pitter-patter of her tall heals echoing through the halls.

Troy looked around only to notice that every eye in the hallway was on him. His face got red from embarrassment and gritted his teeth. "If you knew what was best for you, then you'd leave immediately." And with that, the hallway cleared within an instant.

Troy sighed silently to himself. Even though he had hurt Dayley in the process, Troy was glad that he had gotten that over with.**

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**

_Tap, tap, tap!_ The faint tap of the tip of Gabriella's pencil hitting the desk filled her room. She sat there daintily staring off into space and just thinking, even though she was supposed to be finishing her homework.

At that exact moment, the familiar ring of her cell phone interrupted her thoughts. She knew exactly who it was before she even answered it and quite frankly, she wasn't in the mood to talk to _him_.

Now staring at the caller ID, Gabriella rolled her eyes due to the fact that she had guess right about the mystery caller. Despite how much she didn't want to talk to him now, a part of her told her to take the call.

Gabriella softly hit the answer button. "What do you want, Troy?" she whispered.

"Um…Hi to you too," Troy chuckled from the other end of the phone.

"Troy, why did you call?"

"Well, last time I checked, you were my tutor and I have a literature exam tomorrow. I was kinda hoping that you would study with me."

"Now?"

"Yes, now. You can come to my house, my parents aren't home…"

"Troy," Gabriella started. She knew it. This was some trap just to lead her into sleeping with him, something that she was determined not to do. "I know you're intentions. And if this is just a trap to trick me into having sex with you, then count me out."

"What? NO, no. Gabriella, I would never do that to you," Troy replied hurriedly, and honestly, he meant what he said.

"Yeah right. That's what you and every other guy say before they break your heart."

"Just trust me, ok? We'll just study," Troy promised, hoping that in his heart she would say yes.

"But I'm grounded. My mom would kill me if she knew I had disobeyed her, especially to be with a boy."

"Well, just sneak out. Come on, Gabriella. I really need to study," pleaded Troy in a little kid's voice.

He faintly heard Gabriella sigh. "Fine. I'll be over there in a minute."

Only five minutes later, Troy heard the sound of his doorbell fill the house's empty silence. He quickly made his way down the stairs, trying not to keep his lady waiting.

"Why, hello!" Troy said ecstatically, opening the door for Gabriella whom was standing outside.

Gabriella couldn't help but smile with Troy being so cheesy and all. "Hi, Troy," she giggled.

Troy quietly shut the door behind her as she entered the Bolton residence. He took her to the living room, where he had already laid out all of his studying materials.

"Wow, Troy. You really meant what you said. You do just want to study," Gabriella breathed as she took in the surreal sight that lay before her.

"I always keep my word. Now, let's get down to business," Troy said as he sat on the couch, Gabriella closely sitting next to him, making Troy even nervous than before. He remained silent for a minute before he heard Gabriella speak.

"Troy, are you ok? You seem kinda…distant," Gabriella declared as she intently looked at the gorgeous boy sitting next to her.

"Well, kinda. Dayley and I broke up today."

"What? Oh, Troy, I'm so sorry," Gabriella said, unexpectedly wrapping her arms around Troy's neck in a hug. It took a second for Troy to respond to the hug, before he put his muscular arms around Gabriella's waist, pulling her closer to him.

"It's ok," he whispered into her hair. Although neither of them wanted this moment to end, Gabriella reluctantly pulled away from the hug and pulled a literature book off of the table.

"We really need to study," Gabriella nervously stated, trying her best to forget about what had just happened between them. She shook the thoughts away and began to study with Troy.

An hour later, Gabriella looked at the clock hanging on the Bolton's living room wall and gasped at the sight. It was 10:00. "Oh my gosh. I can't believe that we've been studying for two hours. But I really got to go; my mom gets home in 10 minutes."

"Alright," Troy said as he led her towards the door.

Both Troy and Gabriella got to the doorway and stopped. They stood there, just looking into each other's eyes and before she knew it, Gabriella's dream/nightmare was about to come true. She felt Troy tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear and continue to look into those beautiful chocolate brown eyes of hers. Gabriella could feel Troy's breath against hers as he inched his face towards hers. It was about to happen; Gabriella was about to get her first kiss. She closed her eyes, but as she did, a million thoughts and flashbacks of that horrific day filled her mind. She couldn't let this happen.

Without any warning, Gabriella snapped her head back and gently pushed Troy away. "I can't do this, Troy," Gabriella said before opening the door and bolting towards her own home.

Troy sighed as he watched the girl of his dreams flee from him. He was so close to kissing her. Why hadn't he been faster? Why didn't she want to kiss him? Because Troy knew, that somewhere deep down inside, she wanted to kiss him too.**

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After Gabriella finally made it home before her mom and as she did, she slung herself onto her bed and silently sobbed into her pillow. She couldn't believe what opportunity she had just passed up. Troy Bolton had almost kissed her. But why had she run away?

Gabriella needed someone to talk to and she knew just the person; the only one who knew her secret. She picked up her cell phone and shakily dialed the familiar number as tears poured down her cheeks.

"Hello?" the female African American friend said from the other end of the phone. All Gabriella could do was sob at the sound of her friend's voice.

"Gabriella?" Taylor asked. "Sweetie, what's wrong? What happened?"

"It's really a long story but I went over to study at Troy's tonight."

"But, I thought that you were grounded."

"I was. But I went anyways. We studied and had a great time…until he tried to kiss me."

Taylor gasped in shock because she was the only person that understood the seriousness of the situation. She was the only one that knew of Gabriella's past.

"Oh, Gabriella sweetie…"

"And the sad part of it," Gabriella sobbed even harder, "is that I actually wanted to kiss him back."

"Gabi, we both knew that this was going to happen someday. It's just a part of life. All I can say is for you to talk to Troy about it. Tell him how you really feel."

"What? You want me to tell him the truth about my past?"

"No, just tell him that a kiss is something special to you. I'm sure that he will understand."

Gabriella sighed. "I guess that you're right. I'll just have to talk to him tomorrow."

"Well, good luck."

"Thanks, Tay. I'm going to need all the luck I can get."**

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**Well, there you have it. This chapter was actually longer. Yay! Anyways, please review and tell me what you think. And you can also take a guess at what Gabriella's past is all about if you want. Good ****luck! And thanks!**


	8. A Girl Worth Waiting For

**Oh my goodness. I'm soooo sorry that it's taken me two weeks to update but there's been a lot on my mind lately. To start off with, I turned to 16 on November 5. Also, my school is doing High School Musical for our musical this year. Auditions are next week and I've been going crazy trying to get ready for them. I'm trying out for Sharpay. But there's also this other senior girl who's trying out for Sharpay and she's been pretty mean to me about it. She thinks that she's already got the part. Well I ****don't want to disappoint ****her, but she doesn't have the part yet. Oh well, I've blabbered enough. Thanks for listening! Here's the next chapter!****

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**Troy's POV**

I don't know what's wrong with me. I think that I'm beginning to go mad. I don't know when this started happening, but it seems that lately Gabriella is all that I can think about. She's the only thing that's been on my mind. She's driving me crazy! And the weirdest part is that I'm not thinking about her in a sexual way. I'm just thinking about…her; her personality, her smile, her laughter. Whenever I'm around her, all I can think about is how much I love to be with her. Of course, since last night when I tried to kiss her, I never really realized innocent Gabriella really is. She wouldn't even let me kiss, let alone touch, her.

I know that this sounds weird coming from me, but Gabriella seems like the type of person worth waiting for. If she doesn't want me to kiss her or…do it with her… then I will wait. I don't want to make her uncomfortable around me anymore. I want us to have a good, clean, un-awkward relationship together. Of course, this can never happen unless she wants it to. Boy, she's making me go crazy like never before!**

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As soon as Troy opened the doors to East High that morning, he was flooded by other teenagers. I guess that you could that Troy was, a god, an idol. He was the most popular person in East High and it seemed like everyone wanted to be his best friend. Of course, he already had a best friend.

"Hey, Chad, man. What's up?" Troy asked as he gave his best friend a slap on the back and began walking down the now crowded hallway.

"Nothing. Oh, the team is going to get together during free period today. You're going to be there right?"

"Um…actually, no. I'm not," Troy stammered as he reached his locker.

"Why not, captain? You have to be there. We can't have practice without you," Chad declared with a look of surprise on his face. Troy had never missed a practice before in his entire basketball career.

"Uh, I have to study for my literature exam today."

"Your literature exam?" Chad questioned with a snort.

"Yeah, I have to pass it or I'll be kicked off the team."

"Oh, well then study all you want. Because we need you, captain," Chad laughed as he was joined by Zeke and Jason.

"So, Troy," Zeke asked trying to change to subject, "who's on your hit list for today since Dayley's off?"

"Um…no one," whispered Troy as he turned his back towards them.

"Oh, yeah right. There's never a day that goes by that Troy doesn't screw someone," the guys laughed.

"Dudes, just shut up alright!" Troy yelled, causing the eyes in the hallway to turn towards him. "I don't have anyone in mind."

"Whatever you say…" Zeke said, throwing his hands up in defeat.

Troy rolled his eyes at his friends. Ok, something was now really wrong with Troy. He didn't know why Gabriella was making him so weird but she was. He promptly opened his locker and as he did, a note fell out. He then opened it up and began to read it.

_Troy_

_Meet me in the Chemistry lab during lunch. I want to talk to you._

_-Gabi_

Troy smiled at the letter. And for once, he couldn't wait for lunch to come.**

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Gabriella quietly peered through the window of the Chemistry lab. As she looked through, she could make out the muscular silhouette of Troy Bolton, sitting on a table waiting for _her_. For some odd reason, he was making her even more nervous than ever before. She didn't know why, but even though she was nervous, she couldn't wait to get inside that room and have him wrap his strong arms around her petite waist.

She breathed in and gently pushed open the door, silently praying that having this meeting was the best thing for her relationship with Troy. Her breath hitched in her throat as she saw _him_, the boy of her dreams and the guy that scared her most of all.

"Hey," she breathed out silently as she walked over towards the exceedingly hot guy sitting in front of her.

"Hey," Troy whispered as she came and stood between his legs, allowing him to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer. He put his face into her hair, breathing and taking in her wonderful scent; the scent that drove him crazy.

"Troy, we need to talk."

Troy pulled his head back and looked at her intensely, studying her face, trying to find any hint as to what it might be. "What is it?"

"Well," she said, taking a step back from him, "I wanted to talk about what happened last night."

"Nothing happened last night for us to talk about," Troy laughed. And that one sentence caused Gabriella to blow up.

"Nothing? You call you almost kissing me _nothing_? Troy, I don't know if you have noticed this, but a kiss is not nothing. A kiss is something special to me…"

"Gabriella, calm down, ok. Look I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just…" Troy sighed, "I don't want to upset or disappoint you. You're something special to me, Gabi," he said as he pushed a stray strand of dark chocolate hair out of her eyes.

Gabriella silently sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I wasn't planning on yelling at you. I just wanted to tell you that _if_ we had a relationship together, I would want to take it slower than we already are. Like I said, a kiss is something special to me."

"And I understand that. Look, Gabi, I'm actually shocked that I'm saying this, but I'll wait for you. If this is something that special to you then I'll respect that. I don't want to force you to do anything that you don't want to do."

"Really? Do you mean it?" Gabriella asked tearfully. She couldn't believe what Troy had just said. He would wait for her. And most importantly, he wasn't going to force her into doing anything that she would regret.

"I really mean it," Troy whispered as he placed a sweet, soft kiss on her forehead, causing her to giggle.

"You know, it's a wonder that we were ever enemies."

"Yeah, I must have been crazy to not like someone as amazing as you," Troy said while softly caressing her rosy cheeks with his fingers.

"Thank you, Troy. For everything."

"You're very much welcome, my Gabriella."

"Well, now that I've gotten that taken care of, I expect you to pass your literature exam today," Gabriella strongly declared.

"Well, I'll try. But I am sure that I will with such a wonderful teacher."

"Hmm. Last time I checked, Ms. Darbus isn't that wonderful," Gabriella joked, causing Troy to laugh.

"Well, I'm glad that you gave me a second chance, Gabi. I won't let you down."

"Promise?" Gabriella asked as she looked deeply into Troy's eyes, searching for the truth.

"Promise."**

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**

_Brrrg!_ Troy nervously sat at his desk as the tardy bell for 6th period rang. This was the class that would change everything. It was the period of his literature exam. He took out a pencil and began to anxiously tap in on his desk. He managed to exhale deeply as he saw Ms. Darbus pick up the dreaded tests off of her desk.

"Now class," Ms. Darbus announced, "I expect each and every one of you to pass this test. It's not that difficult in my opinion, but for those of you who were foolish enough not to study then I wish you the best of luck."

She then walked over and slapped the thick packet of papers on Troy's desk. "You're going to need all the luck you can get," Ms. Darbus declared, inching her face towards his with a wicked grimace, making Troy nervous. Hopefully Gabriella's tutoring had actually done him some good.

He silently prayed and breathed in before opening the test and reading the first question to himself.

"Who are the pair of star-crossed lovers in Romeo and Juliet?" He scanned down the answers and chuckled to himself at the options. Fred and Wilma, Sharpay and Ryan, Romeo and Juliet, or Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause. He smiled at the answers and circled Romeo and Juliet before continuing on with his test.

Forty-five minutes later, Troy glanced up at the clock and then back down at his test. He was complete with it but was too nervous to turn it in to Ms. Darbus, the queen of evil. Sighing, Troy slowly got up from where he was sitting at his desk and handed the test to his teacher.

"Could you go ahead and grade it?" Troy asked her because, for once, he was actually worried about his grade.

"If you insist, Mr. Bolton. Please take your seat and I'll inform you when I'm finished."

Troy nodded and took his seat once again. The test had been fairly easy for he had completed it in forty five minutes. Although, he could have finished it in thirty if he had not been daydreaming about Gabriella.

Gabriella. If he passed, he should do something nice for her. After all, she did help him probably pass and plus, he had been mean to her before. Troy knew that he should also apologize for that. Because now, he didn't understand why he had been so cruel to her in the first place.

"Mr. Bolton," Ms. Darbus called, interrupting Troy from his precious thoughts. "Please come get your test."

He sighed before getting up and walking towards his teacher, hoping for the best possible outcome.**

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**Troy gently pulled his car into Gabriella's driveway, even though they lived next door, and sat outside for a minute. Only an hour ago he had called Gabriella and asked her if he could take her somewhere for a surprise. Of course, she agreed to it. Now Troy was sitting in her driveway wondering if she would really like the surprise that he had planned for her. Although, knowing Gabriella, she would love it.

Troy finally calmed himself down before stepping out of the car and heading towards Gabriella's front door. He was so nervous that his hands couldn't stop shaking. This actually worried Troy being he had never, not once, been so nervous about someone before like he has Gabriella. He eventually took a deep breath in before knocking on her front door only to have Ms. Montez answer it.

"Oh, hello. You must be Troy," Ms. Montez assumed while motioning for Troy to come inside their home.

"Um, yes. Is Gabriella ready?"

"I'm sure she is. I'll go check on her. Please have a seat," Ms. Montez said before scurrying up the stairs that Troy assumed led to Gabriella's room.

Being as bored and nervous as he was, Troy stood up and began to walk around their living room, taking in his surroundings. He noticed many pictures of Gabriella and her mom, but mostly of Gabriella. School pictures, birthday parties, and family pictures were included. Then, Troy noticed a picture of a young Gabriella and an older man. Troy assumed this to be her father. Funny, Gabriella had never mentioned her father before. He would have to ask her about him.

"I'm sorry about the wait, Troy," a sweet yet soft voice claimed, pulling Troy's thoughts away from the mysterious picture. He turned around to see Gabriella, in a dark pair of skinny jeans and a sparkly blue top. A simple, yet beautiful look.

"You look beautiful. Are you ready?" Troy asked the teenager standing in front of him. She then nodded and blushed at his comment.

"Oh and Troy!" Ms. Montez called before Troy could head out the door with Gabriella.

"Yes?" he asked as he turned around to face the older mother.

"Don't have her home late," she instructed.

Troy looked over at Gabriella before smiling and grabbing her hand. "I wouldn't think of it."

Not ten minutes later, Troy parked his car near the outskirts of what seemed to be a deserted forest. He looked over at Gabriella who was now giggling.

"Troy, you do realize that we're in the middle of nowhere."

"Well, sometimes nowhere is the most beautiful of places," Troy concluded before stepping out of his car and, being the gentleman that he now was, opened Gabriella's door. He offered her his hand to take, helping her out of the vehicle. She gladly accepted and, for once, didn't let go of his hand even after he had helped her out. What Gabriella seemed to love the most was the way their hands fit perfectly together as they interlocked their fingers.

They walked a little and then Troy stopped and turned to Gabriella, smiling.

"I want you to close your eyes. Don't worry, I'll help you."

"Knowing you, Troy, maybe I should be scared about this surprise," Gabriella stated, a hint of joke in her voice.

"No, trust me; you're going to love it."

Doing as she was instructed, Gabriella closed her eyes and she felt two strong hands envelope hers and they both began to walk a few yards in unison. She suddenly felt Troy stopped and let go of her hands. Gabriella gasped, felling the sudden coldness overcoming her hands.

"Don't worry. I'm right here," she heard Troy whisper in her ear from behind her. "Ok. Open them," he instructed.

Gabriella gasped and she could feel the tears fill the brim of her eyes as she looked at the glorious sight that lay before her. In front of her was a crystal clear blue lake and in front of it was a blanket. On this warm blanket was a picnic basket, lit candles, and scattered rose petals.

"Troy," Gabriella managed to say. "I…I don't know what to say."

"Then don't," he said as they both sat down on the blanket and he began to unpack the basket. "I did this because I wanted to make up for all of the wrong I've did you. I'm truly sorry, Gabriella."

"This really is a wonderful surprise," Gabriella gushed as she looked at what all lay before her.

"Who said that that was all of the surprise?" Troy inquired, causing a look of confusion to cross Gabriella's innocent face. From behind Troy's back, he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Gabriella.

"It's for you. Turn it over," Troy instructed and he watched her flip it over and gasp once more. For in her hands was Troy's literature test, a B+ scribbled on the top in red ink.

"This is also my way of thanking you. I never could have passed this test without your help."

"Thank you, Troy. For everything."

"No," Troy insisted. "Thank you."**

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**Ok, I personally didn't like the ending that much, but at least it's longer than it has been. ****12 pages to be exact. ****Yay me! Ok, if you liked it, or if you didn't, please review. Thanks!**


	9. Something More

**O-M-G! I'm sooooo so sorry that it's taken me a month to update but trust ****me;**** I have a lot of excuses. I've been sick, had musical auditions, nine weeks tests, and shopping for family Christmas presents. It's been so hectic this past month but I've finally managed to work some time into my schedule to type up this chapter. So, I've waited long enough, here it is.****

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**

_Recap:_

_Gabriella gasped and she could feel the tears fill the brim of her eyes as she looked at the glorious sight that lay before her. In front of her was a crystal clear blue lake and in front of it was a blanket. On this warm blanket was a picnic basket, lit candles, and scattered rose petals._

_"Troy," Gabriella managed to say. "I…I don't know what to say."_

_"Then don't," he said as they both sat down on the blanket and he began to unpack the basket. "I did this because I wanted to make up for all of the wrong I've did you. I'm truly sorry, Gabriella."_

_"This really is a wonderful surprise," Gabriella gushed as she looked at what all lay before her._

_"Who said that that was all of the surprise?" Troy inquired, causing a look of confusion to cross Gabriella's innocent face. From behind Troy's back, he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Gabriella._

_"It's for you. Turn it over," Troy instructed and he watched her flip it over and gasp once more. For in her hands was Troy's literature test, a B+ scribbled on the top in red ink._

_"This is also my way of thanking you. I never could have passed this test without your help."_

_"Thank you, Troy. For everything."_

_"No," Troy insisted. "Thank you."_**

* * *

**

As the first bell rang, the doors of East High burst open and clique by clique spilled into its dingy gray halls. Among the cliques was Gabriella Montez, who really didn't fit into a clique at all. She squeezed her way into the build and stood on her tip toes to see her locker far off. She could barely make out the face of Troy Bolton standing there waiting for her.

Her heart skipped a beat or two when she thought of their oh so perfect date that they had last night. Troy really was becoming a gentleman to her and most of the time she had to pinch herself to see if she was really dreaming it. But what she really couldn't understand was why he was being so nice lately. She shook the question off and gracefully walked up to her locker and Troy.

"Good morning," he said as he greeted her with one of those 100 watt Bolton smiles that could take anybody's breath away. And right now, it was working for Gabriella.

"Morning" Gabriella giggled as she opened her locker and grabbed her text book and shutting it back afterwards. She noticed that Troy was still standing there staring at her.

"What?" Gabriella questioned. "Do I have something on my face?" she asked as she frantically searched through her purse for a mirror.

"Relax, Gabi," he insisted as he pulled her hands away from her purse and into his own hands. "You look beautiful."

Gabriella blushed at the complement but a part of her told her that Troy was just becoming trouble. She could tell that Troy had something up his sleeve by the way that he was still staring at her.

"Ok, Troy, what is it?"

Troy laughed. "Sorry, but can I ask you something?"

"Um…sure," she hesitantly replied. Questions from Troy Bolton were never good. She debated with herself whether she should stay or run away somewhere. She was sure that there was an empty bathroom stall that she could escape into.

"Well, I was…um…wondering if you would-" but Troy's question was cut short by a frizzy haired African American boy rushing up and slapping Troy on the back, deliberately standing in front of Gabriella; pushing her out of the way.

"What's up, Troy?"

"Um…well I kinda was busy if you really wanted to know."

"Oh, dude sorry." And with that, Chad stepped out of the way only for Troy to find that Gabriella had disappeared. Troy sighed. Maybe he'd have better luck after second period.**

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Gabriella sat in first period thinking of a certain shaggy brown haired boy and his mystery question. She tapped her pencil and stared off into space, not really interested in what Ms. Darbus had to say about the Shakespearean times. Who would be listening when Troy Bolton, the Troy Bolton, had something to ask you?

This could either be good news or trouble. But, with Troy smiling so and calling her beautiful, Gabriella was sure that this was going to be a good question. But right now, Gabriella didn't know whether she wanted to hear this question or not. That's why she ran away from Troy in the first place. Thank goodness for Chad's bad timing.

She pondered the possible questions that Troy could ask her but nothing immediately jumped out at her. But then, it hit her. What if Troy wanted to ask her out? Nah, this was Troy Bolton for Pete's sake. He wasn't going to ask _her_ out. She shook the question off and began thinking of other questions when a booming voice called her name.

"Miss Montez, would you like to share what you think is so much more important than Shakespeare?" Ms. Darbus called from the front of the class, singling her out and making Gabriella feel smaller that an ant.

"Um…no Ms. Darbus. I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention," she quickly explained hoping that Ms. Darbus would fall for it.

"Very well. Now, as I was saying, Shakespeare…" Ms. Darbus' voice continued to grow dimmer and dimmer as Gabriella's thoughts about Troy began to sink back into her mind.

The truth be told, Troy scared the mess of out Gabriella. She never knew whether he was going to be nice to her or not. After all, they were enemies since they were born. But when did this suddenly turn around? She just couldn't comprehend why Troy had wanted to turn their relationship around. Maybe he wasn't thinking about having sex with her. After all, she had shared her secrets with him except for one. The one secret that was holding her back from having a boyfriend whatsoever.

She just wanted to cry at the thought of that horrific day. But she knew that she couldn't cause another scene in class. Gabriella sniffled, trying her best not to think about it anymore. She knew that if Troy and she became something more than she would have to tell him the truth about her past. She never wanted this to happen because the only people who knew about it now were her mother and Taylor. And quite frankly, she didn't want Troy to find out about it. Ever.**

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**

_Brring!_ After 55 minutes, the bell finally rang signaling for first period to end. That had to be the longest 55 minutes of Troy Bolton's life because he just couldn't wait to ask Gabriella his question.

He could see Gabriella at her locker getting her textbooks. Troy took a deep breath because he knew that it was now or never. He had to ask her. Troy slowly began to head to Gabriella's locker, thinking of what was the best way to ask her the question.

As he took one of the last steps towards her locker, a skinny blonde stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

"Hi, Troooyyy! Dayley's squeaky voice cooed. She smiled at him. "I was going to tell you that my parents won't be home tonight if you want to come over. We could have some…fun," she hinted giving him a wink and wiggling her eyebrows at him.

"Um, no Dayley. Sorry," he said as he continued to peek around her shoulder to see if Gabriella was still at her locker.

"Well, be still my heart, Troy Bolton is turning down sex? Since when? Something is seriously wrong with you. Come on, Troooyy. Please?" she puppy dog pouted while grabbing his hands.

"I already said no Dayley. Don't make me say it again." He gently pushed Dayley to the side and look towards Gabriella's locker only to find her gone. Again.

Troy groaned. Now he would never get to ask her his question. Stupid Dayley! But then a thought hit him. He quickly took out a sheet of paper, scribbled on it, and slid it into Gabriella's locker. This way, no one could interrupt them. And for once, Troy couldn't wait for lunch to come.**

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**

It was now lunch time and Gabriella was so glad for it to finally come. After just four class periods, she was piled with homework, a Physics project, and an English essay. She groaned as she gently turned the combination lock on her locker and as she pulled to open it, she noticed a note fall out and onto the white checkered floor.

She grinned as she slid her books onto the single shelf and reached down to pick up the note. Gabriella quickly unfolded the mystery note and began to read its contents.

_Gabi,_

_Please meet me in our secret spot during lunch._

_-Troy_

Gabriella smiled once again as she carefully stuffed the note into her pocket and slammed her locker shut and began rushing towards the stairs. She gracefully ran up the stairs two by two and as she neared the top, she could see Troy sitting there waiting on her.

"So, I guess you got my note," Troy guessed as Gabriella sat down next to him on the bench. This spot was the most beautiful spot on the entire school campus. It's a wonder that no one else had ever found it. But thanks to the science club, only Troy and Gabriella knew about its existence.

"Yeah I did. But, trust me, this is much better than sitting down there in the cafeteria eating the mush that they call food." Gabriella's comment caused both of the teenagers to laugh. After their laughter had died down, there was an awkward silence and Gabriella knew what was coming. The question.

"So…How has your day been?" Gabriella asked, hoping that it would change his mind about asking the mystery question.

"Good I guess. You?"

"Ok, except that I have tons of homework, a project and-"

"Can I ask you something, Gabriella?" Troy questioned, interrupting her sentence.

Crap! Her plan didn't seem to work so well after all. "Um…sure," she stammered before Troy took her hands, gently placing them into his own. Her hands were now quivering from nervousness at what was about to take place.

"Even though we've been enemies for awhile, we've somehow seemed to work everything out between us. And right now…there is no one I'd rather be with. So I was just wondering…would you be my girlfriend?"**

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**Sorry for the cliffe and the long awaited update. But it was worth it right? Please review! All comments are appreciated. Thanks!**


	10. Start of Something New

**Hey everyone!**** I know that it's been awhile since I've updated but still****, here's another chapter. ****I'll try to update sooner next time if possible. Haha.****Oh and I hope that everyone had a great Christmas. I know that I did because I got this new computer (that's also why it's taken me awhile to update). Anyways, I've chatted enough! Here**** it is!****

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_Recap:_

_"Can I ask you something, Gabriella?" Troy questioned, interrupting her sentence._

_Crap! Her plan didn't seem to work so well after all. "Um…sure," she stammered before Troy took her hands, gently placing them into his own. Her hands were now quivering from nervousness at what was about to take place._

_"Even though we've been enemies for awhile, we've somehow seemed to work everything out between us. And right now…there is no one I'd rather be with. So I was just wondering…would you be my girlfriend?"_**

* * *

**

Gabriella stood there in shock, even though, that's the question that she was expecting he was going to ask her. Right now, she truthfully didn't know what to say to him. Part of her wanted to say yes because she always has a great time with him. She loved the feeling and the spine tingling goose bumps that he gave her even whenever he barely touched her soft, luxurious skin. But another half of her, her smart side, told her that this was just another Troy Bolton trap that she didn't need to fall into. She knew that Troy was a player and was only after one thing. But if she knew this, then why was this decision so hard for her to make?

"Gabi? Please say something," Troy insisted as he looked at her pale, stunned face. "I'm sorry if this comes as a bit of a surprise to you but I just had to tell you how I felt."

"Troy, I…" she stammered as she searched her mind frantically for the best answer that wouldn't disappoint him. "I honestly don't know what to say."

"Yes would be nice," suggested Troy causing Gabriella to giggle as she continued to think about what was actually taking place and the question that could change her life.

"Troy," she sighed, "it's just…"

"Look, Gabi, if you don't like me then just tell me. I don't want you to say yes just because I want you to."

"No, no, no. I do like you! It's just…I just need time to think about this. This is something big for me, Troy. And it might take me awhile to think all of this through before I make my final decision. You understand that, right?" she asked, looking on at him in anticipation.

"Of course. Take as long as you need. But always remember, whether you say yes or no, I'll still be here for you," Troy stated as he wrapped his arms around Gabriella's waist and pulled her into a tight hug.

As they pulled back, Gabriella took Troy off guard by lightly pressing her lips to his warm cheek causing Troy to blush a soft shade of pink "Thanks, Troy. You're the best!"

"So I've been told," Troy replied in a cocky tone, brushing it off his shoulder and causing Gabriella to playfully hit him on his arm, making both of them laugh.

At that exact moment, the 5th period bell filled East High's silent halls. Troy looked over at Gabriella and casually put his arm around her shoulder before guiding her towards the stairs.

"Come on," he suggested, "let's get you to class."**

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_4:00 p.m. Gabriella's House_

Gabriella nervously bit down on her index finger's nail and paced back and forth across the spacious floor in her upstairs room. She couldn't help but sigh at the situation at hand and continued to worriedly march back and forth. Only a few hours ago, Troy, THE Troy, had asked her to be his girlfriend. And she had turned him down. Well, she hadn't really turned him down. She just told him that she would think about it.

Of course, this _was_ something to think about. This was definitely a big step for Gabriella since what had occurred when she was younger. Ever since that day, that life changing day, she didn't think that she would ever love again. But Troy was certainly starting to change her mind about certain things. Including love.

There was just something about Troy that made Gabriella go weak at the knees whenever she saw, or even thought, about him. Maybe it was his piercing blue eyes or his genuine Bolton smile that could melt anyone's heart. But whatever it was, was certainly driving Gabriella crazy. Her head began to hurt from all of the thinking and she knew that she had to get some help to finally make her decision.

Gabriella shakily picked up her pink cell phone and dialed that oh so familiar number. She finally heard the dial tone and as the ringing continued she almost hung up until she heard the voice that she wanted to hear.

"Hello?" the girl on the other end of the line answered after several rings.

"Taylor. I need to talk to you about something."

"Well, I was actually kinda busy right now and-"

"Taylor!" Gabriella interrupted before clearing and lowering her voice. "This is really important."

"Oh. Well, go on sweetie. But I don't have long to talk," Taylor insisted, listening on the other end and wondering what was so important.

"OK…Troy asked me to be his girlfriend," Gabriella smoothly replied as she breathed out a sigh of relief, thanking God that the worst was now over with.

"TROY WHAT?!" she heard Taylor screech from the other end of the phone. Gabriella could hear her panting hardly and stammering to try and find the right words to say. "When did this happen?" she finally asked.

"During lunch today."

"Well, what did you tell him? No, I hope."

"I didn't tell him no."

"WHAT-"

"I told him that I would think about it," Gabriella calmly interrupted her best friend. She prayed that Taylor would have the wise words to help her make her decision. But now, it seemed like Taylor was only going to tell her no.

"Ok, good. You can still tell him no then."

"What if I don't want to say no," Gabriella replied in a strident tone, a tone she had never used before towards anyone. It seemed like nothing was ever going her way but this time, Gabriella was going to make sure that things went just as she wanted.

"Why wouldn't you say no? Gabriella, a few weeks ago you couldn't stand the guy and now suddenly you want to go out with him? Whatever happened to the old Troy that we used to know? Remember him? The one that only cared about what girl he could screw next. But Troy's never changed. Don't you see, Gabriella? He's still the same player that he was 6 months ago. Troy Bolton is incapable of changing or caring about anybody else's feelings. If you say yes he's only going to hurt you, Gabriella. I know so."

"How can you say those things when you don't even know him?"

"Know him? Gabriella, I've known this guy just as long as you have. What's suddenly changed your view of Troy Bolton?"

"I don't know. But he has changed. He'd sweeter than any guy I've met and I just don't know what it is about him but…I like it. Every time we're together I just get these tingling butterflies in the pit of my stomach and I keep thinking about how I actually want him to touch me."

"Sounds like love," Taylor concurred softly.

"Maybe. But a part of me still wants to say no to him. You know, since what happened when I was younger…"

"Oh, Gabi. We both knew that this day would come where you would start to like guys. It's ok. You'll just have to move on and try to forget the past the best that you can."

Gabriella was now enraged and the tears that she once held back were now evident on her soft, almost porcelain, cheeks. "How can I forget that he hurt me? How am I supposed to forget that someone that I loved very much hurt me worse than I've ever been hurt before? He took advantage of me and there's no way that I'll forget it. This isn't fantasy, Taylor. I can't just click my heels three times and then everything will be back to normal. No, what happened will never go away and neither will the scars. As much as I want to, I just can't forget…"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," Gabriella could hear Taylor softly sigh from the other end of the phone. "Listen, Gabi, here's my final piece of advice to you: follow your heart. It knows best. And knowing you, I know that you'll make the right decision."

"But he makes me feel better than anyone else has before."

Taylor sighed and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that she wasn't going to regret what she was about to say. "Then go to him."**

* * *

**Gabriella had just pulled the final sheet over her and snuggled closer to her pillow when she faintly heard something, or someone, tapping at her balcony window. She sighed, wondering who would be up at this time of the night. Gabriella had taken that whole afternoon to try and figure out her decision and she was now in a state of well deserved rest which this someone at the balcony was now disturbing. 

She gently pushed the sheets away from her body and looked out at the balcony, where a light blanket of fog had been spread over the quiet town. Gabriella smiled when she saw the one person that she was least expecting to see, especially at this time of the night. Troy Bolton. Gabriella gracefully walked towards the male and opened the doors, motioning for him to come in.

"I didn't mean to disturb your sleep," Troy said quietly as he blushed from the revealing silk gown that Gabriella was wearing right now. "But I just had to see you again."

"What am I going to do with you?" Gabriella giggled as the pair sat on the edge of her bed now in awkward silence. Gabriella could feel Troy's eyes on her and she sweared that if he had stared any longer than he would burn a hole straight through her face.

"Well, I actually couldn't sleep and…I…well, I was wondering if you had…you know…made your decision?" Troy managed to say as he forcefully looked into Gabriella's deep chocolate eyes, hoping for the answer that he had been wanting to hear.

"I actually did make my decision," Gabriella declared as she saw Troy looking on in eagerness. She desperately didn't want to disappoint him. But she knew that this answer would change their relationship forever.

"And?..."

"Yes, Troy. I'll be your girlfriend."

Hearing the answer that he had been waiting to hear, Troy picked up Gabriella by the waist and spun her around, causing her to laugh loudly. Troy finally placed her back down on the ground where she belonged and sweetly kissed her nose, causing Gabriella to wrinkle it and giggle again. He then finally placed his arms around her waist, hers around his neck, and pulled her into a powerful hug.

"I hope that you've made the right decision," Troy whispered in her ear as he took in her beautiful scent, now excited to call the beautiful girl in his arms his.

"I know I did," she confirmed as she looked at her now boyfriend that she was holding in her delicate arms. The look of excitement that Troy had in his piercing, blue eyes confirmed that she had made the right decision about taking their relationship to the next level. This was going to be the start of a beautiful relationship and Gabriella definitely knew that this was going to be the start of something new.**

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**Aww! So sweet, right? I hope that ****yall**** enjoyed it because I know that I did. I also know that there are hundreds of people who read this story. If you are reading this right now, please be nice enough to review and tell me what you thought of it. That's all I'm asking. Thanks!**


	11. Surreal

**Hi! Again I'm sorry for it taking so long for me to update but having musical rehearsal three nights a week, three hours each, can get very tiring. I actually almost ****fell asleep during my test the other day****, which is bad for me because I NEVER fall asleep in class. Oh well, anyways**** I've talked enough****, here's the next chapter.****

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**Gabriella's POV**

You know, it's weird to think that only a week ago, my life had changed for the better, or so I thought. Troy and I seemed to be getting along just fine as boyfriend and girlfriend but I still could never get over that day. Sure it happened in the past but that doesn't mean that you have to forget about it, do you? I mean, I want to forget about that day. With all my heart. But a part of my brain just won't let me because no matter what anybody ever tells me, what happened was _real_. And no body, not even Troy, can change that fact.

But what am I talking about? Troy doesn't even know about what happened in my past. Of course, nobody really does except my mom and Taylor. The only reason that I told Taylor what happened is because she was my best friend and she deserved to know. Plus I couldn't seem to keep such a big part of my past from her. I was practically bursting at the seams to tell someone. Sigh. So does this mean that since Troy's my boyfriend that he needs to know. Well I know that he does, but not now. I'm not ready for that. At least, not yet.

I can't really seem to put it into words, but what Troy and I have is special now. He makes me feel like no one has before. This past week that I've spent with Troy has been amazing. The Monday after we got together was unforgettable. I'll never forget how he stood up for me and showed me that he really cared. I was even surprised that he'd put his friendship with Chad on the line…all for me.

_**Flashback to Monday**_

It was another beautiful Monday morning at East High and all seemed to be well at the bustling school. Teenagers were running around rehearsing musical lines, finishing last minute homework, and even skateboarding. Among the chaos was the idolized Troy Bolton, who was protectively holding his now girlfriend's free hand. Gabriella had blushed when he had taken hers into his but after awhile, she didn't seem to mind the feeling. Troy seemed to make her feel…secure. As Gabriella's eyes fell upon Troy's usual group of friends cutting up and making jokes at each other, she felt her stomach drop; the knots inside now turning even tighter. She could feel her throat go dry and she instantly let go of Troy's hand.

"Gabi? Baby, what's wrong?" Troy concernly asked his girlfriend as he looked at her pale and scared face, wondering what was going through her mind.

"I can't do this, Troy," she concluded as she wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach as if she was about to become sick right then and there.

"Oh, Gabi, don't worry," he said as he cupped her chin in his rough hand and forced her to look him in the eyes, "You'll be fine."

"You sure? What if Chad gets mad or something?"

"He won't. But if he does then he'll just have to deal with me," Troy jokingly said as he took his own fist and punched his hand, causing Gabriella to go into a fit of giggles.

"Thanks Troy," Gabriella said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer, now catching the attention of every other girl at East High.

"You're welcome," Troy claimed as he planted a soft kiss on his girlfriend's forehead and retook his hand in hers and gave it a light squeeze. "Come on."

Gabriella smiled as the couple continued their walk towards the rest of Troy's buddies, the jocks. She could already see Chad making eye contact with Troy, wrinkling his brow in confusion, before whispering something to the other guys.

"Don't worry about them, sweetie," Troy reassured her as they finally approached the rest of the jocks. Their laughter seemed to die down as the couple quietly approached the group.

"Hey, guys," Troy said nonchalantly as he eyed each of his friends, including Chad, Zeke, and Jason. They tried their best to smile back but the guys knew that something here was terribly wrong.

"Troy, have you gone completely insane?"

"Um…no?" Troy answered almost in question form. He seemed to be wondering where Chad was going with this question.

"Then why are you holding hands with that little nerd?" Chad asked as the other guys turned their heads away and began to snicker. Gabriella looked down at the ground, trying her best to ignore Chad's comment. She just wanted to scream, _"Hello! I'm right here!"_ but she didn't really want to cause an even bigger scene than the one that was about to take place.

"Maybe because she's my girlfriend," Troy boldly stated and took a step forward towards Chad as the snickers seemed to cease. Chad's eyes were now narrowed as he looked at Troy in confusion, wondering what was really up.

"Girlfriend?" Chad laughed as he looked at the other guys. "Come on, Troy. This is Gabriella Montez, the girl that you used to hate."

"Yeah, well, I don't hate her anymore. In fact," he said as he looked over a Gabriella giving her a small smile, "I really like her."

"Like her?" Chad asked before smirking and speaking again. "Oh I get it. You just want to get inside her pants too."

"Baby, why don't you go on to homeroom?" Troy leaned over and suggested in her ear. "I'll meet you there." Gabriella slightly nodded and without a word, left heading towards their homeroom class.

"Come on, Troy. Now that she's gone you can tell us. What's this really all about?" Zeke asked as he too looked at Troy in utter confusion.

"I don't know what it is, guys, but I really like her. I'm serious. She's different."

"That's because she's a nerd," Jason chimed it causing the rest of the guys to laugh wildly and slap each other on the back.

Troy, now angry from his friend's rude comment, roughly pushed Jason into the nearest locker and held his hand to his throat, not tightly squeezing it but just enough to scare him. Jason's eyes grew wide in shock at what Troy was doing and Chad then figured that it was about time to intervene before someone seriously got hurt.

"Yo, Troy get away from him," Chad insisted as he pulled his angered best friend away from Jason, who was now flustered. "What's your problem, man?"

Troy frustratedly ran a hand through his dark brown hair and rubbed the back of his neck in confusion. "I don't know," he almost whispered. "Something just came over me."

"Dude, you've never stood up for a girl like that before," Zeke stated as he looked over at Jason to make sure that he was okay. His breathing was finally back to normal but his heart was still pounding wildly and his hands were still shaking.

"I guess that's because I really like her. I told you, I don't know what it is about her. She's just so…innocent. And for once, that's what I seem to like. She won't even let me kiss her but you know what? Oddly enough, I don't even care. I'd much rather just be around her and hanging out than making out on her bed. This isn't a one night stand. This is real."

"Sound's like Troy's whipped!" Chad joked, now excepting the fact that Troy really liked Gabriella. Who knows? She might not be as bad as he thought a nerd could be. And just by looking at Troy-the happy smile on his face and the new glint in his eyes-, he could tell that his best friend was telling the truth and for once…he believed him.

_**No Flashback**_

I don't know why it happened but it did. Taylor, who had witnessed the whole incident, told me what happened later that day after school and it just blew my mind away. I just couldn't believe that Troy had stood up for me like that. I sat there, listening to the meticulous details of the story, tears streaming down my face. What I didn't understand was what made Troy do such a thing for me. It just amazes me at how much Troy actually cares. It's just…I don't believe it. Who knew that Troy cared that much for a little nerd for me?

And what really made my head spin and my stomach churn even more was the event that took place last Tuesday. Now this incident showed exactly how much Troy liked me and exactly how far he was willing to go for someone like me…no matter what happened.

_**Flashback to Tuesday**_

It seemed like just another Tuesday morning, but for Troy and Gabriella, this day would be anything but ordinary. Troy could feel, as he walked hand in hand into school with his girlfriend, that this day was going to be different. He could tell that something was going to test their relationship eternally. Troy gave Gabriella's hand a light squeeze before Gabriella allowed a small smile to play across her lips.

"You okay?" Gabriella asked Troy quietly as she turned and stood before him in the now crowded school hallway. Troy let go of Gabriella's hand, and much to her surprise, this slightly upset her. She shrugged it off and continued to listen to her boyfriend.

Troy ran a hand through his frazzled brown hair before breathing out a sharp sigh. "Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind. That's all…"

Gabriella exhaled and took her hand to push Troy's floppy hair out of his piercing blue eyes. "You wanna tell me about it?"

"Nah, it's not that important. Besides, you don't need to be worrying about me," he claimed as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Thanks, Troy. See you during lunch?" she asked.

"You know where," Troy stated as he watched his precious girlfriend walk off towards her class, her hips swaying side to side as she walked leaving Troy speechless.

"Troy, quit staring at Gabriella's butt," a voice claimed from behind Troy. Startled, Troy turned around to see his best friend smirking at his little comment.

"Haha, as if you wouldn't."

"You're right, I wouldn't. But maybe I would if it was her best friend…" Chad said as he voice grew quieter at the last sentence ended.

"Taylor?"

"Shh! Yeah, I admit, she's kinda cute," Chad whispered so no one could hear him but his best friend.

"Dude, you're crazy," Troy declared as he slapped Chad on the back and the pair of best buds continued to joke as they headed towards their class.

It was now lunch time and as Troy sat upon the white bench on the rooftop jungle he could hear faint footsteps start to make their way up the stairs. Troy smiled as he already knew who it was. Finally, Troy saw the face of the beautiful brunette that he was now proud to call his girlfriend. Gabriella approached Troy and she felt his muscular arms immediately snake around her slender, petite waist.

"Hey, Troy," Gabriella whispered as she nervously buried her head into his well toned chest. She could feel his chest rising and falling from his shallow breathing.

"Gabi…" Troy murmured as he ran a free hand through her curly chocolate brown hair.

"Troy?"

"Hmmm?" Troy mumbled through her hair which his face was buried in.

"I don't feel so well."

Hearing this, Troy quickly pulled away to face his girlfriend. "What do you mean you don't feel good?"

"Well, I've just had a headache all day and I just…feel so weak," Gabriella whispered with all of her strength.

Troy placed a cold hand on her pale forehead and instantly jerked it away and rubbed up and down her forearms. "Gabi, you're burning up! Why haven't you said anything?"

"I don't know, I just didn't want to cause a distraction or anything…"

"Sweetie, it's no distraction if you're really sick," Troy said as he took Gabriella's hand into his and pulled her towards the stairs. "Come on. We're taking you to the nurse."

Gabriella reluctantly sighed; knowing that there was no way that she was going to win this fight. Plus, she really didn't feel good and at this point wouldn't mind getting some help. As they walked down the dim, silent hallways, Gabriella stopped mid-way down the hall and lifted a cold hand to her forehead.

"Gabi, what's wrong?" Troy asked, his voice filled with concern for Gabriella who was now standing silently in the cold hallway.

"I…Troy, I feel…I feel dizzy," Gabriella said before falling to her knees and having Troy rushed to her limp side.

"Gabi!" he screamed as he shook her. After Gabriella didn't respond, Troy did the only thing that he knew to do. Troy picked up Gabriella bridal style in his arms and began to rush towards the nurse, which thankfully wasn't too far away.

Troy burst through the nurse's office and immediately laid her down on the nurse's table, knowing that it was best for her. The short and heavy nurse came running out of her office to see what all the chaos was about.

"Troy, what happened?" the nurse asked as he looked towards the worried young man. Of course, being the coach's son, she already knew Troy. Who didn't know Troy at this school?

"My girlfriend told me that she had been feeling weak and it seems like she has a fever. On our way here, she stated that she was feeling dizzy just before fainting."

"Well, I'm sure that it's nothing but a case of lightheadness. A lot of teenagers get this from over stress. I'm sure that it's nothing to much to worry about. Although, going home and resting is the best option for her right now. Are her parent's home?"

"No. Her mother is away on a business trip. But I am willing to take her home and watch over her."

"Well…" she paused as she began to think and tap her index finger on her plump chin. She looked up at Troy who was giving the best Bolton smile that he had. The middle aged nurse chuckled. "Of course you can take her home, Troy."

Troy breathed a sigh of relief as he looked down at his woozy girlfriend. She had finally managed to sit up but was still heavily dizzy from fainting. Gabriella held a head to her spinning head and squeezed her eyes shut tight.

"Come on, Gabi," Troy instructed as he helped her off of the nurse table and put his arm around her waist, helping to support her up. "We're going home…"

Not ten minutes later, Troy and Gabriella had arrived at her house. Troy put his car in neutral and looked over at his now sleeping girlfriend. He still couldn't get over how beautiful she looked and how all those many years he had taken her for granted. He had never taken the chance to see what Gabriella Montez was really like until now.

After thoroughly admiring the sleeping girl next to him, Troy finally hopped out of the car and opened the other door where Gabriella was lying. He quietly unbuckled her and gently picked her up bridal style, being careful not to wake her. After finally arriving in her upstairs room, Troy cautiously laid the sleeping Gabriella back down on her bed. Much to Troy's dismay, she stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"Troy?" Gabriella mumbled, her eye's now half open as she lay on the soft queen sized bed.

"Shh…" Troy instructed as he pulled the covers on top of her. He then nervously bent down and kissed her forehead while tucking a stray curl behind her ear. "Go back to sleep."

Troy took a step forward before turning around and looking back at Gabriella. He finally sighed as he began walking towards the bedroom door to leave.

"Troy," he could hear her murmur again.

Troy turned around to face the almost sleeping girl that was lying on her bed. "Yeah?"

"Please stay…" she almost commanded, a look of pleading evident in her chocolate eyes.

Troy half smirked before walking back towards her. "Of course." He looked around the room to see a computer chair next to her wooden writing desk. Troy quietly sat down in it. He knew his limits, which is why he had chosen the chair in the first place. He leaned back in the chair and kept his eyes fixed on the now sleeping girl in front of him. Troy sighed and thanked God for someone as wonderful as her to come along as save someone as wild as him.

_**No Flashback**_

After I had awakened, it had all seemed like a dream. But indeed, when I looked over towards my desk and saw the adorably cute sleeping boy in front of me, the one that was curled up in a ball in my computer and snoring very loudly, I knew that I had defiantly not been dreaming. It just had seemed so surreal for me to even begin to explain. It was too perfect.

Quite frankly, I'm beginning to see Troy in a new light. I know shocking, right? I don't know what it is but he's just been so…nice. Actually, when I think about it, it's kinda weird compared to my past when he would call me names or even hurt me. Now it seems like no amount of motivation would get him to lay a hand on me. It's kinda freaky. But in a good way, I guess.

Even though it may seem like everything is too perfect, there is always a down fall to any succeeding relationship. Ours is…well how about I let you see for yourself…

_**Flashback to Friday Night**_

It was early Friday night, otherwise now known to Troy and Gabriella as date night, and there seemed to be a cool crisp in the breezy autumn weather. The red tinted leaves were just beginning to fall onto the damp ground and there was a certain chill in the evening air.

As Troy and Gabriella began to stroll hand in hand back to Troy's car from the movie theater, Troy begin to think about how far he should end up going with Gabriella. He knew how innocent she was and Troy didn't want to ruin anything or make anything uncomfortable between them. He knew that she was nowhere near ready for making out. Heck, the two haven't even kissed! But that wasn't Troy's fault. Gabriella was just so innocent. And surprisingly…that's what Troy liked most about her. Her innocence made her special. Something different. And as of right now, Troy hated the fact that he had lost his virginity from a girl whose name he couldn't even remember. And it had all just seemed to go downhill from there. During that 10th grade year, Troy went from Class Nobody to Class Player. Every single girl wanted to be with him, even if it was a one night stand. And somewhere deep down in his heart, Troy knew that he didn't want Gabriella to be just another one of those girls. The feelings that he had for her now were real and nothing, or nobody, could change that fact. Troy just had to show Gabriella his feelings, and he knew just what to do.

The couple silently made their way up Gabriella's front steps and as they stood in front of her door in awkward silence, thoughts of what to do next were rushing around in Troy's mind. The pretty brunettes eyes were intensely fixed on Troy's own piercing ones.

Troy looked down at their interlocked fingers and gave a sigh before finally speaking. "You know, I really had fun tonight, Gabi."

"Me too," she nervously whispered. Troy could tell that the young girl was scared about what was going to happen next. And Troy just couldn't help it any longer. He had to show her his true feelings and this was the only way he knew to do so.

"Um…I guess I'd better go in," Gabriella spoke as she slightly turned on her heel towards the door before Troy spun her around, his arms ending up around her waist.

"Don't go yet," he whispered back. Troy silently took his hand to push a strand of hair out of the pretty girl's eyes before slowly inching his own face towards hers. Before he shut his own eyes, Troy could see hers shut tight as the two were about to kiss. As the couple's lips almost met, Gabriella suddenly pulled back some and rested her own forehead against Troy's; her eyes still closed, her breathing irregular, and her heart beating faster than ever before.

"I can't do this Troy. Not yet," Gabriella sighed while speaking. The young brunette took a step forward and gently pressed her soft lips to Troy's cold cheek. "See you later," she said before turning around, walking through her front door, and leaving Troy standing there. Alone, confused, but mostly, hurt.

_**No Flashback**_

I knew that I had wanted that kiss just as much as Troy did, but apart of me told me to wait it out. I want to know that Troy really does love me before he steals my first kiss. I want it to be special. Something that I'll remember. As I stood on that cold doorstep late last Friday night, I grew even more scared than before. Troy didn't know that I had never been kissed before and to him it wasn't a big deal. But I'm different and I want him to know that. If he really and truly loves me then he'll have to wait. Because right now, I don't think that I'm ready for Troy. And I know what I have to do. Even if it breaks his heart.**

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Well, that's that. It's actually the longest chapter I've made so far. 15 pages to be exact. And again I apologize for the late update, but when you have musical rehearsal almost every night, you're constantly tired from all of the dancing and singing. Next time I'll ****try to update faster, but don't hold me to it. Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	12. Dayley Strikes

**Wow. I can't believe it. It's actually been that long since I've updated. Yall, I'm so sorry. I can't even begin to describe how sorry I am right now. With the musical and all, it was really hard to update. Speaking of the musical, I received the part of Taylor and, if I do say so myself, did wonderful. It was so much fun. Anyways, now that the musical is over I might be able to update, but I'm making no promises as usual.****

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She sat there; tapping her wooden pencil on her overly clustered antique desk and confused about what to do next. Well, she technically knew what she wanted to do. But was it going to be the right choice? That's the question that remained floating inside Gabriella's mind all night long. Troy had been nothing but sweet to her; therefore, she didn't want to hurt his feelings. But, right now, it seemed like she had no other choice. She had to do it.

As the next morning rolled around, Gabriella made sure to wake up earlier so that she could meet Troy in the gym at his early morning basketball practice. Even though she really didn't know what she was going to say to him yet, she knew that she had to do this one way or the other. It was inevitable. Even though the new couple seemed to be getting along just fine, in Gabriella's mind, they weren't. The thought of being with someone seemed to really scare Gabriella. Ever since that day, she couldn't trust anyone that she thought she could. And that's basically the reason why she was going to go through with this.

After getting fully dressed and ready, Gabriella made her way to school where she knew Troy was waiting. As she stepped out of her candy apple red 2008 Toyota Camry, compliments from her mother, Gabriella looked at her watch as it read 7:00 A.M. Gabriella was pretty sure that no other East High student would be here at this time of the morning. Although she didn't know it now, Gabriella was completely wrong about this. Gabriella wasn't alone at the school, and neither was Troy.

As the petite brunette forcefully pushed open the enormous steel doors to the entrance of the school, she could immediately hear the emptiness of the dimly lit hallways. The young girl silently stepped inside the building, making sure not to slam the door behind her, and continued on her journey down the vacant hallway to find Troy. As she progressed further down the hall, she could hear the faint pitter patter of basketballs hitting the gym floor in the distance; the sound of unsuccessful basketballs bouncing off of the circular rim. Gabriella drew closer to the gymnasium doorway and slightly opened the door, just enough to watch all of the action that was taking place inside.

Gabriella looked from person to person. She could see Chad shooting a three pointer only to have the ball bounce away from the rim. Gabriella could also make out Zeke dribbling the orange globe down the full court just before passing it to Jason. As she continued to look around the arena, Gabriella noticed that the one person that she was looking for was actually missing. Where was Troy?

The sound of slight giggling from behind her caused Gabriella to whip her head around in the other direction. She didn't see anyone, but she sure had heard them. Gabriella cautiously tip toed down the hall and stopped just before reaching a corner. And, much to her surprise, Gabriella heard voices. And it was not who she wanted to hear.

"Oh Troy," the girl around the turn giggled again. Gabriella slightly peeked her head around the narrow corner to see a thin blonde throw her own skinny arm around his sweaty neck. As Gabriella squinted her chocolate eyes in the direction of the pair, she instantly knew who it was with her boyfriend. Dayley.

"Come on, Day. We talked about this," Troy groaned as he shook her overly tanned arm off of his muscular shoulder.

"I know. But I figured that since my parents were out of town again, I'd be nice enough to offer. I know how you like a good time," she said with a suggestive wink before running her nails down Troy's well defined abs, sending him shivers up and down his spine. Troy tried his best to shake if off.

"Day…"

"Well just think about, k? I'll be waiting," Dayley said with another wink before pecking her own glossed lips against Troy's warm cheek and strutting away back down the hall.

Gabriella could feel it, the tears welling up in her gorgeous brown eyes. He had hurt her even if he didn't realize it now. She knew that Troy couldn't turn down Dayley's offer. There was no way that she could measure up to Dayley's standards. Why did she ever decide to trust him? Everyone had warned her of his ways, yet she refused to listen to them. And now look what a mess she was in. Gabriella had to tell someone; she needed to let out all of her feelings. And she knew just who to talk to.**

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**

"And then…" the tearful brunette sobbed as she held her head in her delicate hands, "She kissed him."

Gabriella had just finished telling her story to Taylor who had come over after school as soon as Gabriella had called her with the terrible news. The pair was both in utter confusion about what to do now. Gabriella's heart was so broken that she really had no idea about what to do next. She actually didn't even want to talk to him to say the truth. And now Taylor was just as baffled as her.

"Oh Gabs…" the black girl cooed as she rubbed the crying girl's back before actually tearing up and beginning to cry with her best friend. It was the only thing that she knew to do at this point. In reality, the best to help a weeping friend is just to cry with them.

"Sweetie, I don't know what to say…"

"You might as well say 'I told you so', because you were right anyways," Gabriella stammered as she took a Kleenex and brushed some of the stray tears away from her own face.

"Now why would I do that? That would probably just make you feel worse than you already feel now."

"Tay, I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Well, I personally think that you need to get your mind off of Troy… And I know just the way to do that."

Gabriella looked up at her best friend through her tear stained eyes. "How?" she sniffled once again.

"Don't worry about it," she said as she patted her friend on the back before whipping out her cell phone and dialing a number. "I'll take care off everything…"

Not fifteen minutes later the loud ring of the front doorbell could be heard throughout the Montez household. Gabriella, who was still in her upstairs room with Taylor, gave her friend a confused look before gracefully getting up and marching down the stairs towards the door. When Gabriella finally swung up the heavy door, before her were two people whom she'd never expect to see, especially at her front door there to console her.

"Sharpay? What are you doing here?" Gabriella gasped as she could not believe that the spoiled drama queen would be there to help her. Sharpay, as usual, was fully decked out in a pink sparkly jumpsuit with a silver S sewn on the left pocket.

"Well, I figured that for once I could just try to be nice and help out a friend. Plus, I owed Taylor a favor," the diva said before pulling several giant glittery suitcases up the stairs and into the Montez house. From behind Sharpay, Gabriella could see another small figure huddled near the door. Gabriella peered around the blonde to see a smaller, mousy, auburn-headed girl whose glasses had seemed to slip down towards the end of her nose. The girl pushed her oval rims back up near her brown eyes before entering the house as well.

"And Gabriella," Taylor began to introduce, "This is Kelsi Neilson. She's the school's musical composer and a good friend of Sharpay and I."

"Oh, hey," Gabriella said before extending a fragile hand forward only to have the smaller girl timidly take it and gently shake it.

"Now that everyone is here, we can finally get this party started!" Taylor exclaimed before Gabriella pushed the black girl into the nearest hallway to talk in private. "Excuse us."

"Tay, I don't know if I want to go through with this… I mean, I'm not sure that I want to be around people. I'm deeply hurting and new people are not going to help me get through this."

"Oh don't worry, Gabi. Everything is going to be fine. Just wait!"

Gabriella rolled her beautiful chocolate eyes before silently praying that Taylor would be right. She did need help. No, what she needed was to get her mind off of Troy. And Gabriella had a feeling that that is exactly what she was going to get from these girls tonight.**

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**

"_Landon, I'm sick," Jamie exclaimed, a look of sadness evident on her pale face._

"_Well, I'll get you some help…" the middle sized high school boy replied._

Gabriella rolled her eyes. Apparently something was wrong with her friends. Did they obviously think that watching "A Walk To Remember" would help make her feel any better about Troy? Um…I'm going to go with a no on this one. She looked at Taylor who had a tissue in one hand, dabbing her right eye and then her left, and an enormous bag of Dove chocolate in the other. Seeing this, Gabriella grabbed the soft pillow that she was holding and buried her face into it, wanting to scream her guts out right now. So far the girls had raided the kitchen, played an awful round or two of Truth or Dare (which only made Gabriella think of Troy more), and now they were huddled around her television watching the soapy, love movie that was only making Gabriella want Troy more.

She sighed. Gabriella was in a pretty crazy dilemma right now, and she honestly didn't know where to go from here. She wanted Troy more than anything. To be with him, having him hold her. But on the other half, she despised him. She didn't want to even see him, let alone think about him. But it was inevitable. There was no way to solve her problem but to do what she had started to do in the first place. Break up with Troy Bolton.**

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**Ok, I'm finally done. And I decided that since I haven't updated in forever that I would slip in some Sharpay and Kelsi (though it wasn't much, sorry). Anywho, I hope you enjoyed it. If so, tell me. Review please!**


	13. You Can't Hide Your Past Forever

**Ok, I'm back! Haha. Well, I'm not going to chat long at all because I just want to get to this chapter. Hopefully it's going to be absolutely ah-mazing! (Mostly because this is the chapter that everyone's been waiting for) Hope you enjoy it…****

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The Montez household was silent. You could practically hear a pin drop onto the cold, hardwood kitchen floor. But as the morning sun rays began to beam through the front glass window, the still room seemed to magically come to life. The once dark area became lit, showing the disarray that the four teenage girls had managed to make during their time together. After a late night of fun, movies, gossip, and stories, the girls finally went to sleep, and for Gabriella's sake, hoping for a better day tomorrow.

The brunette teen's dreary eyes fluttered as the presence of light filled the room. She quickly blinked a couple of times before realizing that she was downstairs and not in the comfort of her own bed. Gabriella looked around to see her other friends still soundly sleeping away, contently dreaming. She smiled seeing her friends so at peace. And that's when it hit her and all of reality came rushing back to her overly crowded mind. The thoughts of Troy unfortunately came flooding back to her.

Gabriella frowned, knowing that she needed to stay as far away as possible from Troy as she could. After what she had unwillingly witnessed in the hallway, Gabriella didn't even want to speak to her boyfriend. Then all of a sudden, the ringing of her cell phone quickly shoved all thoughts of Troy out of Gabriella's mind…or so she thought. Looking down at the caller ID, Gabriella grimaced. It was him. She deeply exhaled once before reluctantly pushing the answer button.

"Hello?" she answered, a little too coldly. The tone of her voice even startled her. Where did sweet, innocent Gabriella go?

"Gabi? Is that you?" the male voice that belonged to none other than Troy Bolton asked from the other end of the line. She could tell that he was a little shocked as well.

"Yeah," Gabriella replied quite shortly.

"Oh, you ok?"

"I'm fine," she whispered as she heard one of the girls beginning to wake up from behind her. Gabriella quietly tiptoed through the doorway and delicately sat down on the stairs which led to her bedroom. "What do you want, Troy?"

"Right," Troy responded, immediately remembering the reason for which he was calling. "Would you like to go out tonight? We can see a movie."

Gabriella sighed. This was it. She could turn him down and break up with him or end up go on a date with a total cheater. She had to make a choice.

"I…I really don't know, Troy…" her voice trailed off as mind began going in a thousand directions, hundreds of thoughts flooding her overpowered mind.

"We don't have to go see a movie if you don't want to," he hurriedly suggested, a little too quickly some might add. "We can always find something else to do."

"No, it's not that. It's just…" Gabriella stopped talking as she heard the movement of someone behind her. She turned around to see Taylor slowly awaking from her sleep.

"Look, Troy, I can't do this now; I have company. I'll…" she sighed, hating to say what she was about to. But she knew that there was no choice. "I'll call you back later."

He sighed. She could tell that he genuinely cared for her. Gabriella just couldn't seem to understand what had happened between him and Dayley at school. Why did things have to be so complicated?

"Fine. You sure you're ok?" he asked once more.

"Yeah…"

"Alright. Don't forget to call back…"

"Troy," Gabriella said sternly. This boy sure didn't know when to quit!

"Ok, ok. Bye!"

The line went dead. Gabriella sighed. Now she really didn't know what to do. It's a good thing that her friends were already here because she sure needed them right now. Speaking of them, Gabriella turned around to see Taylor fully awake and staring back at her.

"Morning!" Taylor exclaimed before jumping up and sitting down next to Gabriella, who had just sat herself down on the couch.

"Hi…" Gabriella lazily replied with a sigh. She put her chin into her hands and began to absentmindedly stare around the room.

"So, who was on the phone? A certain blue eyed, brown headed boy I suppose. Perhaps his name is-" Taylor began just before being cut short by Gabriella.

"Yes, Taylor. It was Troy," Gabriella said, interrupting her best friend's sentence.

"Sooo, what did he want?"

Gabriella sighed. She had to tell Taylor; there was no way around it. Plus, she really needed some good advice and Taylor was usually the best person to ask. "He asked me to go on a date tonight."

Taylor's eyes widened. "And you said…?"

"I told him I'd call him back."

"Well that's a good step," Taylor joked before being glared at by Gabriella. Her laughing stopped. "Look, you can't run away from him forever, sweetie. You're going to have to talk to him"

"I know," Gabriella said in a small voice while staring down at the floor, not daring look Taylor in the eye. She sighed once more, waiting for the rest of Taylor's advice.

"Honestly, I think that you should go out with him tonight. It's what's best. I mean, you might as well get it over with."

"So, are you saying that I should break up with him?"

Taylor picked up Gabriella's cell phone and handed it to her. "All I'm saying is talk to him. Take the date."

"Fine," Gabriella groaned before dialing that oh so familiar number. She glared at Taylor once more before turning her attention to the phone and her situation at hand.

"Troy? Yeah, I'm free tonight. Pick me up at 7."**

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It had been only 30 minutes into the movie and Troy had already tried to put his arm around Gabriella…twice. But each time, Gabriella seemed to push him away. In Troy's point of view, it was almost as if she didn't want to be near him. Yet, there she sat beside him; last row in the movie theater and completely all alone. Literally. You'd think that more people would show up to a romantic comedy but, on this night, the couple was alone, much to Gabriella's dismay. She could hear Troy sigh as she pushed him away once more.

"_What's her problem?"_ Troy wondered. _"She's never really acted like this before…have I done something wrong?"_

Troy just tried his best to push the thoughts out of his head, but they just wouldn't go away. She had always shuttered and shivered at his touch and it made him proud to know that he had given her those uncontrollable feelings. But now she wouldn't even let him get near her. Something wasn't right and Troy could tell. He just didn't know what it was…yet.

As the screen turned black and the credits finally began to roll, the couple sighed as they stood up together and headed out of the movie theater. The darkness of the night outside engulfed them as they both marched towards Troy's vehicle. There seemed to be a certain ere feeling in the air; almost a warning that something was going to happen, and it wasn't going to be good either. Gabriella shook off the weird feeling as she gingerly sat down in the passenger seat of Troy's car. As the couple sat there, silence filled the car once more.

Troy stole a quick glance at Gabriella, who was looking out the opposite window, before inserting his keys into the car. The engine rumbled before Troy pressed the gas, allowing the car to gently move forward. Not a single word was exchanged between the two during their, almost awkward, car ride home. As they neared Gabriella's plain white house, Troy knew that he had to do something. He couldn't just let her leave with saying a single word.

After he had turned into the empty driveway and stopped the car, Troy started to lay his hand on top of Gabriella's. But just as he came close to touching her, she moved her hand out of the way, folding her arms across her chest. And that's all she had to do to set Troy off.

"What is your problem tonight?" Troy questioned her, his tone much harsher than usual. And by this, Gabriella knew that he was ticked.

"Nothing!" she sharply stated before lifting herself out of the car and heading towards her front door, Troy right on her heels. She could feel his presence behind her and she knew that there was no stopping him now.

Just before reaching the stairs that led to the front door, Troy grabbed Gabriella's arm, jerking her around to face him. "Don't you run away from me."

"Don't touch me like that!...Just don't touch me at all!" Gabriella shrieked before barely freeing herself from his tight grip and entering her house. She tried her best to slam the door behind her but she wasn't quick enough. The door had opened just enough for Troy to slid his fingers in, enabling the door from closing. He forcefully pushed the door open to see Gabriella running up the hall stairs, which he knew led to her own room.

Troy continued to chase the brunette down the hair until they were both in her room, completely out of breath. Rage filled Troy's eyes, while fear and nearly tears filled hers. Neither of them knew, but things weren't about to get pretty.

"Gabs, just tell me what's wrong already alright!"

"I've already told you, I'm fine…Just leave me alone."

He took a step towards her. She could feel his hot breath against her own face. Gabriella tried her best not to let the tears spill out.

"What do you think I am? Stupid? I know that something's wrong!" he assumed, a threatening look filling his eyes as he forcefully tried to stare into her chocolate orbs. "Now tell me!"

"Everything's fine. Now just shut up and leave!" Gabriella screamed. Troy took a step back, the fury still in his eyes but this was just a side of the innocent Gabriella that he had never seen before.

"Not until you tell me why you wouldn't let me touch you tonight."

"No. LEAVE!"

"No, Gabs. Just freaken tell me already!"

"NO! There's nothing to tell. SO GO!" Gabriella yelled back. The tears were now evident on her face and there was no stopping them now as they began to cascade down her porcelain face.

"Just tell me why you would let me touch you!...TELL ME!"

"BECAUSE I WAS ALMOST RAPED BY MY FATHER!"**

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**Surprise! Haha. Sorry that I had to leave it at such an important cliffhanger, but at least now you know Gabriella's past. And I'm sooooooo x10 sorry about not updating sooner. I've just had WAY too much on my mind and I just haven't had the inspiration to write. I've literally written about a paragraph per day. Forgive me? A review would be nice too. :)**


	14. Forever and Always

**Hey yall! I really and truly am sorry about this super late update. I didn't mean to get so far behind on my writing, but things happen. With school starting and tons of boy drama, it's been hard to find the time and inspiration to write. Hopefully this chapter won't suck too much. Enjoy!****

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Mouth dropped.

Eyes shut.

Tears poured.

Silence engulfed the still room as the horrific words suddenly, and unexpectedly, escaped Gabriella's trembling lips. She really hadn't meant to tell Troy her unknown secret. It just sort of….happened. But it was out in the open now and there was nothing that she could do to take that moment back, no matter how much she wished she could.

The sobs grew louder as Gabriella's entire body shook with emotion. Troy stood still, watching the weeping girl in front of him, not knowing what to do. No words were spoken from either of the two. The only thing that could be heard throughout the house was the strong emotions that were pouring out of Gabriella.

Then, slowly and carefully, Troy walked towards his girlfriend and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, letting her know that everything would eventually be alright. And surprisingly, she let him touch her.

"T…troy…" Gabriella managed to speak as the sobbing continued from the tiny girl. She loved the comforting feeling that Troy was giving her at that moment as he soothingly rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"Shhh, baby. It's ok…It's alright. I'm here." Those were the only words that were needed at the time. The emotions were strong and the tension was high in the small bedroom. Yet, a confusing feel was in the air. What was going to happen next?

Even though time seemed to stop, more than thirty minutes had passed by since words were spoken between the two. The couple just sat there in each others arm, Gabriella sobbing uncontrollably and Troy just pressing little kisses to her forehead and whispering comforting words in her ear. Finally, as the tears seemed to end, Troy pulled Gabriella back a little bit, just enough to see her face.

"Now," Troy said as he stared into her eyes, hoping to get an answer that way, "tell me everything."

"I…I can't—"

"Yes you can, sweetie," Troy interrupted. " I know you can. I believe in you."

"But it hurts too much."

"I know it does. But things will be better if you just get it off of your chest, I promise," Troy whispered the last part into her ear, almost leaving her speechless as his hot breath tingled the inside of her ear.

Gabriella sat back a little bit before she began her story. "Well, it all started when I was five…" Gabriella looked at Troy, who gave her a reassuring look and a nod, begging her to continue. She took a breath before starting again.

"We were a happy family: me, mom, and dad. Things seemed to all be going well in our household. We were just like any other normal family; we ate supper together, watched movies, and just hung out. Then, something happened that I wasn't expecting."

Gabriella felt Troy's arm snake around her waist. It felt like he was the only one giving her the power to continue on with this story. So she did.

"One afternoon, my mom went away on a business trip for a few days, leaving me at home with dad in charge. It all started out so innocently. He would brush against me, twist my hair around his finger, or squeeze my waist. Being only five, I didn't know that anything was wrong. I only thought that he was being a loving dad. Boy was I wrong. Later that day, he told me that we were going to play a game. And—" Gabriella's voice cracked and the sobs began to start again.

"Go on, baby. You can do it," Troy whispered as he rubbed the side of her arm for support, leaving chill bumps on her skin.

"I don't want to go into detail. But he ended up taking all my clothes off of me. He would touch me in places that a five year old shouldn't be touched, especially by their dad." Gabriella could see Troy wince at this and he pulled her into his lap. "This continued on for several more days. When mom finally got home from her business trip, he made me promise not to tell her what we had been doing or else he would beat me. So, I promised. The abuse continued when mom was never at home though; the touching, the kissing, the fondling. Sometimes he would even make me touch him; that was the worst part of all."

Gabriella turned her face to Troy just in time to see a tear slide down his angelic face. She took her tiny, shaking hand and managed to whip his tear away before she continued.

"August 19. The sexual abuse had now been going on for five months, but that afternoon changed everything. Dad and I were at home alone; Mom had gone to get groceries. And, as usual he stripped me of my clothes and continued to do what he always did. But this time, it was different. This time, he was actually going to rape me. He laid me in my tiny bed, both of us naked, his heavy body hovering over my fragile one. And just as he was about to….my mom entered the room." Troy gasped. That was something he was not expecting to happen at all.

"Mom immediately called the cops to arrest him. She didn't care if he was her husband or not. All she was concerned about was protecting me. That's all that mattered. The cops came and a few months later my parents were officially divorced."

After the story ended, the silence grew in the room for a few moments, that is, until Troy decided to speak up.

"Gabs, I'm so sorry," Troy apologized, even though it wasn't his fault, he just knew that it was something that he needed to do; something that he needed to say. He could hear his girlfriend below him sniffle. She didn't say anything; Gabriella just buried herself deeper into Troy's chest. Finally, as the tears stopped, Gabriella embarrassingly looked up at her boyfriend.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…I don't want to burden you with any of this," she unknowingly apologized. Troy just smiled as his flustered girlfriend tried to frantically apologize.

Troy took his rough, calloused hands and ran them over her smooth face, wiping all of her tears away in the process. "Gabs, baby, its okay. You're problems will never be a burden to me. I'm just glad that you finally told me. Now I know why you are having such a difficult time with me."

"Yeah…I guess so," she mumbled from against his heaving chest. She could tell that he was a little distraught from all of this too.

As he pressed a kiss to the top of Gabriella's head, Troy just so happened to look at Gabriella's digital clock. _11:45_. He sighed as he gave Gabriella one last squeeze and began to pick her up to move her off of him. As Troy got up, Gabriella now sitting on the bed by herself, he began to explain.

"Well, it's getting late and I better get home." But just as he was about to turn around and leave, Troy felt a small, icy cold hand grip his wrist and tug him backwards.

"Don't," Gabriella said in a small voice. And that was all that needed to be said. Before turning around to face her, Troy smirked as his insides began jumping for joy. She wanted him to spend the night.

"Please…." Gabriella urged. "Don't leave me."

Troy smiled as he made his way back towards the girl in front of him. Even with her red, bloodshot eyes and her tear stained face, she was the most beautiful girl that Troy had ever seen.

"I'll never leave you," Troy promised. With that said, Gabriella laid down on her bed, snuggling under the covers in the process. Troy did the same and, being the responsible boyfriend that he knew he should be, kept his blue jeans on, even though it was awfully uncomfortable. Once he had slipped under the light purple covers, Troy felt Gabriella snuggle against his bare chest. He knew that she needed him and she was not in the state to be taken advantage of.

Once Troy was _sure_ Gabriella was asleep, he pressed another soft kiss to her forehead before whispering his last words and drifting off to sleep himself:

"I love you, Gabi."

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****Well, there ya have it. After several months without an update, I finally get the inspiration to write again. You want to know why I suddenly started writing again? Well, I went through and reread your reviews today. Those were the only things that gave me the willpower to complete this long awaited chapter. Like I've already stated, I'm truly sorry for the late update. Please review to tell me your thoughts. I'd love to hear them!**


	15. Author's Note Important

**PLEASE READ THIS NOTE! VERY IMPORTANT! (Especially for all Jonas Brothers fans)**

Hi everyone.

I hate to make this author's note, I really do. But it must be done. Seeing as I have not updated this story since November or so, I have decided to put it on hiatus for now.

Here's the deal: One of the main reasons that I have not updated is because I've been very sick. Some strange virus attacked my body and I have been unable to walk for almost 3 months. Physical therapy three to two times a week has really helped to put me back on my feet. Now that I've gained some of my strength back, I decided to address this story.

For all of those who have devotedly reviewed and kept up with this story, I am very sorry to make this announcement. I just don't have the heart to continue this story. But, if for some reason I do, I will let everyone know immediately.

For those of you who want to continue to read my writing, though, I have started writing a new story. If you're a Jonas Brothers fan, I encourage you to read this. I will paste the link below and, hopefully, it will work. If you decide to check it out (please do) then I would love it if you reviewed to tell me that you're from FanFiction.

Again, I'm truly sorry to be making this author's note.

xoxo,

hpHSM

Here's the link to my new story:  
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and if it doesn't work go to: jonas brothers fanfiction archive . com (minus the spaces) and search for the story "Waiting for Yesterday" or my pename which is haleigh91.


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